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History, Students, and Education A Survey about Students’ Perspectives on History Education at the

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Implications for Future Teaching

Jesper Larsson

Agrarhistoria nr 4

Uppsala 2016

Agrarhistoria nr 4

History, Students, and Education A Survey about Students’ Perspectives on History Education at the

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and Implications for Future Teaching

Jesper Larsson

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences Department of Urban and Rural Development

Division of Agrarian History

Agrarhistoria nr 4 Cover photo: Karin Hallgren. Students at a course in agrarian history are erecting a split-rail fence (hankgärdesgård) in the summer of 2015. ISSN 1403-3402 ISBN: 978-91-576-9413-3 eISBN: 978-91-576-9414-0 Editor: Janken Myrdal © Jesper Larsson 2016 Print: SLU Repro, Uppsala Sweden

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Summary The aim of the survey was to investigate whether students at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) think it is important to learn about history and if history taught at a university with strong emphasis on natural sciences should be general knowledge or specific knowledge. All programs taught at SLU touch upon social science and humanities in one way or another regardless if the program curricula reflect it or not. The connection between all educational programs and social science is expressed in the Act of Higher Education. History lingers over all educational programs at SLU.

The survey gathered the students’ perspectives on these questions and inquired about the students’ views on history and its relation to their education. Hence, the goal of this report is to discuss the students’ interest in history and how that interest is reflected in teaching at SLU. The overarching question is whether it is important that students graduating from SLU have knowledge in history—in particular, if students think knowledge of history is important and what kinds of history they want to study. A survey is a useful tool since it makes it possible to study overall patterns about students’ history interests. Results from a survey allow discussion about differences among educational programs in their views on history education. This survey made it possible to discuss the relationships between educational programs, interest in history, and its implications for education.

The survey went to all registered undergraduate students including students in the longer professional programs like Agronomy and Forestry. For the longer programs, the survey also went to students in years 4 and 5 who are in the advanced-level or second-cycle degree program. A total of 865 students completed the survey, and the response rate was approximately 25%. Since students at SLU in many ways form a quite homogeneous group regarding such characteristics as ethnic background, age, and interest in the scope of a small, specialized university’s mission, the high response rate in this survey makes the result reliable.

Forty percent (40%) of the students at SLU have high (34%) or very high (6%) interest in history. A majority of the students (56%) think they will improve in their future jobs if they have knowledge of their profession’s history. Only 15% do not think history knowledge will make them better in their professional careers. Half of the students (51%) think that a college education should always include some historical courses/components while 21% of the students are of the opposite opinion. When asked if they wanted more history linked to the education they study, the same percentages of students (34%) agree and disagree. This report presents how students in different educational programs perceive history and history education and makes it possible to compare educational programs as well as the opinions of students from different faculties.

When the students were asked what kind of history they are most interested in, many of them with low interest in general history showed high interest in history closely connected to their own education. SLU’s students’ commitment to their studies in general is reflected in their

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interest in history: history connected to their program is very important to them. For many students, it is easier to see the connection between history and land-use management than between history and treatment of animals or microbiology. Fewer students in the Veterinary Medicine program see a direct benefit of history compared to students in, for example, the Landscape Architecture program. The students who are taught history today appreciate the benefit of history more than students in programs with no history explicitly incorporated, and they think to a larger extent that a college education always should include some historical courses/components. Students whose coursework incorporates history could more easily comprehend its benefit. The survey clearly demonstrates that many students perceive history education as a subject they could benefit from in their profession. Students at SLU have a utilitarian view on history. The survey has shown that many students think history is part of a general knowledge that students graduating from SLU should have. To fulfill the students’ requests for more general knowledge in history, SLU must rethink how history is integrated into its educational programs.

One major conclusion from the survey is that many students want open courses in history connected to their education, i.e. agrarian history, forest history, etc., not just one course with no option to advance to a higher level. The students are arguing for specific knowledge in history, and many students perceive history as an important component to add to their education program at SLU. To better use the professional knowledge in history that is present at SLU, i.e. Agrarian History at Ultuna, Forest History at Umeå, and Garden History at Alnarp, a closer cooperation between these groups would be beneficial. The Agrarian History program has always had extensive contact with society outside the university that can be further strengthened.

Keywords: Education, History, Survey, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Teaching

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Sammanfattning Syftet med den här rapporten har varit att undersöka om studenter vid Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet (SLU) anser att det är viktigt med historia och om historieundervisningen vid ett universitet med stark betoning på naturvetenskap skall ses som allmän kunskap eller specifik kunskap. Alla utbildningsprogram vid SLU berör samhällsvetenskap och humaniora på ett eller annat sätt, oavsett om detta speglas i programmens kursplaner eller inte. Att alla utbildningsprogram har anknytning till samhällsvetenskap uttrycks i Högskoleförordningen och alla utbildningsprogram berörs på något sätt av historia.

Studien utgår från studenternas perspektiv på dessa frågor och undersöker deras syn på historia och relation mellan historia och deras utbildningsprogram. Målet med rapporten är att diskutera studenternas intresse för historia och hur detta intresse avspeglas i undervisningen vid SLU. Den övergripande frågan är om det är viktigt att studenter som tar sin examen från SLU har kunskap i historia – eller mer precist, om studenterna själva tycker att kunskap om historia är viktigt och vilken historia de vill studera. För att diskutera dessa frågor har jag gjort en enkätundersökning. En enkätundersökning är ett användbart verktyg eftersom det gör det möjligt att se övergripande mönster i studenternas historieintresse. Resultat från undersökningen möjliggör därmed en diskussion om skillnader mellan utbildningsprogrammen, intresset för historia, och möjliga konsekvenser för framtida utbildning.

Enkätundersökningen skickades till alla registrerade grundstudenter inklusive studenter i de längre yrkesprogrammen som agronom och jägmästare. För de längre programmen fick också studenter på avancerad nivå i årskurserna 4 och 5 enkäten. 865 studenter fullföljde undersökningen och svarsfrekvensen var cirka 25 %. Eftersom studenter vid SLU på många sätt utgör en ganska homogen grupp, med hänsyn till egenskaper som etnisk bakgrund, ålder och ett utbildningsintresse som ligger inom ramen för ett litet, specialiserat universitetet gör den höga svarsfrekvensen att resultaten är tillförlitliga.

Fyrtio procent av studenterna vid SLU har ett högt (34%) eller mycket högt (6%) intresse för historia. En majoritet av studenterna (56%) tror att de kommer att bli bättre i sitt framtida jobb om de får kännedom om sitt yrkes historia. Endast femton procent tror inte att historiekunskap kommer att göra dem bättre i sitt yrkesliv. Hälften av studenterna (51%) tycker att en högskoleutbildning alltid bör innehålla någon historiska kurser(moment) medan 21% av studenterna är av motsatt uppfattning. På frågan om de ville ha mer historia kopplad till sin utbildning är det lika många studenter (34%) som vill det som inte vill det.

När studenterna ombads svara på vilken typ av historia de är mest intresserade av, svarade många av dem med ett ganska lågt intresse för allmän historia att de hade ett stort intresse för historia förknippad med deras egen utbildning. SLUs studenternas stora engagemang för sina studier i allmänhet återspeglas i deras intresse för historia: historia som anknyter till deras program är viktigt för dem. För många studenter är det lättare att se sambandet mellan historia och markanvändning än mellan historia och till exempel behandling av djur eller mikrobiologi.

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Färre studenter i veterinär programmet såg en direkt nytta med historia jämfört med studenter på till exempel landskapsarkitektur programmet. De studenter som idag har undervisning i historia uppskattar historia mer än studenter på program där historia inte är uttryckligen införlivad. Studenter med historieundervisning tycker i högre utsträckning att en högskoleutbildning alltid bör innehålla några historiska kurser(moment) än studenter som inte har historia.

Undersökningen visar tydligt att många studenter upplever historieutbildning som något de kan dra nytta av i sitt framtida yrkesliv. Studenter vid SLU har en utilitaristisk (nyttobetonad) syn på historia. Undersökningen visar att många tycker historia är en del av en generell kunskap studenter med examen från SLU skall ha. För att uppfylla studenternas önskemål om mer generell kunskap i historia, måste SLU se över hur historia bättre kan integreras i utbildningsprogrammen.

En viktig slutsats från undersökningen är att många studenter vill ha fristående kurser i historia som ansluter till deras utbildningsprogram, det vill säga agrarhistoria, skogshistoria, etc. Studenterna argumenterar för specifika kunskaper i historia, och många studenter upplever historia som en viktig komponent att lägga till sin utbildning vid SLU. För att bättre utnyttja professionella kunskaper i historia som finns vid SLU, dvs. agrarhistoria vid Ultuna, skogshistoriska i Umeå och trädgårdshistoria i Alnarp, skulle ett närmare samarbete mellan dessa grupper vara till nytta. Ämnet agrarhistoria har alltid haft omfattande kontakt med samhället utanför universitetet som ytterligare kan stärkas.

Nyckelord: Utbildning, Historia, Enkätundersökning, Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet, Undervisning

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Preface The background to this report was a four-weeks advanced project course in higher education at The Center for Educational Development (UPC) at The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). The aim of the course was to allow “participants to develop their pedagogical competency by carrying out a project focusing on teaching, learning, or supervising in the participants’ own institution or faculty” (SLU n.d.: 20). The course ran from early September 2014 to early June 2015.

The overarching question for my project is Do students at SLU think it is important to learn about history? The background to the question is that all educational programs taught at SLU touch upon history in one way or another regardless if the curricula reflect it or not, hence how students think about the connection between history and education is an important question. For a university like SLU, with a strong focus on professional programs, it is important to develop educational programs to promote interdisciplinary thinking so students can make holistic assessments.

The project’s background is also connected to my own research area of agrarian history. Agrarian history was stripped from almost all open courses in 2011. A few new courses were introduced within programs, but the total loss of credits taught was more than 50% at the undergraduate level. These changes were made only because of budget constraints for education at SLU as a whole, with no overarching goal for education. Hence, the fundamental changes in history education make it important to address the question about history’s role in education at SLU.

A very important perspective for a university is to consider the students’ opinions, and in this project the students are the focus. I asked for SLU students’ opinions about history and education through a survey. The number of students responding to the survey has been tremendous. My wish is that the results and suggestions from this report function as a starting point for a discussion about history and education at SLU to create education with a more interdisciplinary approach that students and teachers can benefit from.

This report would not have been possible without support from many people. I am grateful to my supervisor at UPC Alexandra D’Urso who has guided me through the process, from the idea to the final report. I also would like to thank Karin Hallgren, Inger Olausson, Kristina Jansson, Gustav Skog, Ellen Wiedman, Kjell Gustafsson, Elizabeth Hillerius, Emma Capandegui, and the support team at Netigate, who gave feedback on the survey and provided valuable information about SLU. Thanks also to freelance editor Joanna Broderick. I acknowledge funding from the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities.

Ultuna, August 12, 2015

Jesper Larsson

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Author Jesper Larsson, Research Fellow at The Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities and Associate Senior Lecturer at the Division of Agrarian History, Department of Urban and Rural Development, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) and Affiliated Faculty at The Vincent and Elinor Ostrom Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA. His research is focused on common-pool resources and collective action in early modern Scandinavia.

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Content Summary ..............................................................................................................................v Sammanfattning ................................................................................................................ vii Preface ............................................................................................................................... ix Author ..................................................................................................................................x List of Tables.................................................................................................................... xiii 1. Introduction..................................................................................................................... 1

Aim and Goal ................................................................................................................ 1 Background.................................................................................................................... 1 Students at SLU ............................................................................................................. 3

2. Methods .......................................................................................................................... 5 3. Results ............................................................................................................................ 9

Number and Response Rate ........................................................................................... 9 Overview ..................................................................................................................... 11 Results for Programs ................................................................................................... 12

Agriculture/Environment (NJ Faculty) ..................................................................... 12 Agronomy – Economics ......................................................................................... 12 Agronomy – Rural Development ........................................................................... 13 Agronomy – Food Science ..................................................................................... 14 Agronomy – Soil/Plant ........................................................................................... 15 Biology – Bachelor ................................................................................................. 16 Agricultural Management (Lantmästare) ............................................................... 16 Master of Engineering and Bachelor in Economics ............................................... 17 Summary: Agriculture/Environment (NJ Faculty) ................................................. 17

Animal Science (VH Faculty) ................................................................................... 18 Agronomy – Animal Science ................................................................................. 18 Ethology and Animal Welfare (Etologi och djurskydd) ......................................... 19 Veterinary Nursing (Djursjukskötare) .................................................................... 20 Veterinary Medicine ............................................................................................... 21 Animal Science – Bachelor program ...................................................................... 22 Summary: Animal Science (VH Faculty) .............................................................. 22

Garden/Landscape (LTV Faculty) ............................................................................ 23 Horticulture ............................................................................................................ 23 Landscape Architecture .......................................................................................... 24 Garden Engineering (Trädgårdsingenjör) .............................................................. 25 Landscape Engineering .......................................................................................... 26 Summary: Garden/Landscape (LTV Faculty) ........................................................ 27

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Forestry (S Faculty) .................................................................................................. 28 Forestry (Jägmästare) ............................................................................................. 28 Forest Management (Skogsmästare) ...................................................................... 29 Summary: Forestry (S Faculty) .............................................................................. 30

4. Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 33 Implications for Teaching ............................................................................................ 34

References ......................................................................................................................... 37 Appendix 1: The survey .................................................................................................... 39 Appendix 2: Statistics ....................................................................................................... 45 Appendix 3: Open question ............................................................................................... 53

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List of Tables Table 1. Educational programs at SLU to which the survey was sent ................................ 6 Table 2. Four overarching themes (corresponds to the University’s faculty

division), the program included in these themes, and the number of answers from students in each theme ................................................................. 10

Table 3. History interest and the importance of history for Agronomy – Economics students ............................................................................................................... 13

Table 4. History interest and the importance of history for Agronomy – Rural Development students ........................................................................................ 14

Table 5. History interest and the importance of history for Agronomy – Food Science students ................................................................................................. 14

Table 6. History interest and the importance of history for Agronomy – Soil/Plant students ............................................................................................................... 15

Table 7. History interest and the importance of history for Biology students .................. 16 Table 8. History interest and the importance of history for Agricultural

Management students ......................................................................................... 17 Table 9. History interest and the importance of history for students at the Faculty

of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences (NJ) ........................................ 18 Table 10. History interest and the importance of history for Agronomy – Animal

Science students ................................................................................................ 19 Table 11. History interest and the importance of history for Ethology and Animal

Welfare students ............................................................................................... 20 Table 12. History interest and the importance of history for Veterinary Nursing

students ............................................................................................................. 21 Table 13. History interest and the importance of history for Veterinary Medicine

students ............................................................................................................. 22 Table 14. History interest and the importance of history for students at the Faculty

of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science (VH) .......................................... 23 Table 15. History interest and the importance of history for Horticulture students ......... 24 Table 16. History interest and the importance of history for Landscape

Architecture students ........................................................................................ 25 Table 17. History interest and the importance of history for Garden Engineering

students ............................................................................................................. 26 Table 18. History interest and the importance of history for Landscape

Engineering students......................................................................................... 27 Table 19. History interest and the importance of history for students at the Faculty

of Landscape Planning, Horticulture, and Crop Production Science (LTV) ................................................................................................................ 28

Table 20. History interest and the importance of history for Forestry students ................ 29

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Table 21. History interest and the importance of history for Forest Management students ............................................................................................................. 30

Table 22. History interest and the importance of history for students at the Faculty of Forest Sciences (S) ....................................................................................... 31

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1. Introduction Aim and Goal The aim of this project was to investigate whether students at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) think it is important to learn about history and if history taught at a university with strong emphasis on natural sciences should be general knowledge or specific knowledge. The method used was a survey targeting students attending bachelor programs and professional programs at SLU. The goal of this project is to use the results from the survey, provided at the end of the report, to discuss changes in future teaching of history to better correspond to how the students perceive history’s role in education at SLU.

Background SLU has a reputation of being a strong university for natural sciences. A significant portion of biology research in Sweden is performed at SLU. The professional programs at SLU are of utmost importance, and 80% of all students are registered in programs that give a professional diploma. Many of the programs given by SLU require a high school education in natural sciences, but in recent years more programs have opened for students with other backgrounds. However, agriculture, forestry, and veterinary medicine, all considered natural sciences, are more than that; they involve human interactions (Myrdal 2009). Hence, all programs taught at SLU touch upon social science and humanities in one way or another regardless if the program curricula reflect it or not. This is not only a general statement about the relation between natural science and social science in education (Snow 1993 [1959]; Kagan 2009). The connections among all educational programs and social science are expressed in the Act of Higher Education. Regardless of subject, the general goal for a bachelor degree is to “demonstrate insight into the role of knowledge in society and people’s responsibility for how it is used”. For a master degree, the goals are similar, and the Act of Higher Education states that one goal is for the student to “demonstrate insight into possibilities and limitations of science, its role in society and people’s responsibility for how it is used” (Förordning (1993:221) för Sveriges lanbruksuniversitet). The Act for Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences has similar goals for bachelor and advanced-level degrees as well as professional degrees. One example would be the Agronomy program, where one goal is to “demonstrate the ability to make a holistic assessment of the use of the agricultural sector with regard to relevant scientific, social, economic, environmental and ethical aspects” (Högskoleförordningen (1993:100)).

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One of the subjects in social science that lingers over all educational programs is history. Every scientific field has its own history: treatment of animals has a history, land-use management has a history, etc. Society is in constant change and today’s knowledge is part of tomorrow’s history. Today’s society will soon be viewed in the eye of history, and to as Abraham Lincoln said, “Fellow students, we cannot escape history” (Annual Message to Congress, December 1, 1862). Courses offered at SLU in my subject, agrarian history, have been drastically changed. The total number of open courses available for students at SLU have been reduced since 2011 (Andersson-Eklund et al. 2011), and these changes have been especially hard on minor subjects, like agrarian history. Teaching in agrarian history used to be mainly based on open courses that students in any program at SLU as well as students from elsewhere could take. At the bachelor level, it was possible to take 67,5 credits in open courses in agrarian history. Today there is only one open course left at 10 credits (given during the summer session) and one mandatory course in the Agronomy Rural Development program at 10 credits (this course has a handful of open spots). There is also one mandatory course in the Landscape Architecture program at 5 credits and one optional course in the Agronomy Economics program and Rural Development program at 7,5 credits. This gives a total of 32,5 credits at bachelor and advanced levels. These fundamental changes from open courses to mostly courses within programs and a large loss of credits (more than 50%) taught in agrarian history at the bachelor level have to be addressed. (The fact that the University pays less for every credit taught in agrarian history today than it did 10 years ago is an aspect of the changes that will not be discussed in depth here.) One way to address the question about history’s role at a university with strong emphasis on natural science is to ask the students’ opinions about history and education. To address this development and build a strategic plan for future teaching in agrarian history at SLU, I think it is necessary to know how students perceive history. A strategic plan should not be restricted by present-time limitations and constraints for education at SLU, such as a lack of money or limited possibility to provide open courses. A strategic plan must instead be built on an ambition to provide the best education in line with the core mission for SLU, and provide critical thinking about this mission. Hence, a strategic plan must include both thoughts about history as general knowledge and agrarian history as its own subject in relation to teaching. There are many arguments for incorporating history education in programs at SLU. However, the goal of this report is not to deliver these arguments or elaborate on the benefit of history. It takes the students’ perspectives on these questions and inquires about the students’ views on history and its relation to their education. Hence, the goal of the paper is to discuss the students’ interest in history and how that interest is connected to teaching at SLU. The overarching question is whether it is important that students graduating from SLU have knowledge in history—in particular, if students themselves think knowledge of history is important and what kinds of history they want. Different groups and individuals might answer questions about history and education very differently, but a very important perspective for a university is to consider the students’

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opinions. A university that knows the students’ opinions has a chance to adjust its educational programs to accommodate students’ wishes. These changes could range from the content of specific courses to the overall structure of educational programs. This is not to say that the students’ opinions are the only opinions to listen to, but when students’ opinions are known, they can function as a starting point for a discussion about what history knowledge the students want to acquire and how this desire fits with other goals in SLU’s educational programs and mission. A question connected to this discussion is if history is considered part of a general knowledge or if it is seen as specific knowledge. In this context, general knowledge in history is knowledge that all students in a program should have acquired when graduating. Specific knowledge in history is knowledge that a student voluntarily has chosen to acquire to reach broader or deeper understanding of his or her own subject. How knowledge in history is viewed has consequences for the University: Should it offer open courses in history or incorporate history into programs? This question, as the questions above, is discussed in this report from the students’ perspectives. Hence, this report does not consider if there are other arguments for general and/or specific knowledge or the consequences for education at SLU, such as if there is a demand outside SLU for open courses in agrarian or forest history or if they provide other values for society. In order to discuss the questions posed above I chose to develop a survey targeting first-cycle students at SLU. A survey is a useful tool since it makes it possible to study overall patterns about students’ history interests. Further, results from a survey allow discussion about differences among educational programs in their views about history education. This survey enabled me to gather large amounts of data that make it possible to discuss the relationships between educational programs, interest in history, and its implications for education. The results may have implications on how history might be taught at SLU in the future. Hence, this report concludes with some suggestions to change history education at SLU in order to strengthen the University’s educational program and make it more sensitive to students’ interests.

Students at SLU SLU’s mission (https://internt.slu.se/en/organisation--styrning/mission-vision-and-values/) is to develop the understanding and sustainable use and management of biological natural resources. According to this mission, all educational programs the University offers are related in some way to biological natural resources. As a small university with a distinct profile, most students have made a clear choice to come to one of SLU’s first-cycle and professional programs (https://www.slu.se/utbildning/program-kurser/program-pa-grundniva/, in Swedish). Hence, many students at SLU have a high commitment to their studies since they have a major interest in the subjects. As we will see later, when the results of the survey are discussed, this deep interest in their education reflects how they perceive history and what kinds of history they are most interested in.

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Many surveys target students to get their opinions. One reason for this is that students are an easy group to contact (they spend a lot of time online) and they often can manage their time more freely than many other groups. Their opinions are important because they are young and will be around for a long time and will impact the future. In this survey, I targeted students because I am interested in them as students and how they perceive their education.

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2. Methods This report is based on a survey (Appendix 1) that was conducted from February 3 at 10 a.m. to February 13 at 12 p.m. The survey went to all registered undergraduate students (first-cycle program, bachelor level) including students in the longer professional programs like Agronomy and Forestry. For the longer programs, the survey also went to students in years 4 and 5 who are in the advanced level or second-cycle degree program. I used e-mail lists for each education program, provided to me by IT Support at SLU, to contact the students. However, the survey was limited to the programs with available and up-to-date e-mail lists. Since the Hippology program (Equine Science) had e-mails only for 2014 students and that list was invalid, no students from the Hippology program participated in the survey. For some programs I did not get a list for all admission years, such as Master of Engineering (Table 1). I used a tool from Netigate (http://www.netigate.net) to create the survey. Netigate provides professional e-survey software and as an employee at SLU I was eligible to use the University’s subscription after registering as a user. I took an online course at Netigate to learn the software and consulted Netigate’s support team several times. During the development of the survey, a preliminary pilot survey was made with the purpose to check that the questions made sense. Colleagues answered the pilot survey. Before the survey was launched, a small group of students completed it as a test on the population I was targeting (Rowley 2014). The survey was designed to be as clear and easy to answer as possible, and I used several guidelines to structure the survey and write clear questions (OQI 2010; Rowley 2014; http://www.netigate.net). The survey was divided into 13 questions. The first 12 questions were multiple choice and some of these questions had an overarching question that was composed of several subquestions. In total, there were 37 questions or statements the students had to answer. The last question in the survey was an open question where the students could elaborate their thoughts about history and SLU. The questions were divided into three sections: (1) the student’s interest in history, (2) statements about history and if they agreed or not, and (3) questions about the respondent. The first section dealt with questions about the student’s interest in history and had three parts (see Appendix 1). The first part was a question about their general interest in history. The second part asked multiple questions about their interest in more traditional history, such as global history or political history. The third part targeted their interest in history connected to the core of SLU’s mission: domestic animals, agriculture, forestry, environment, etc. In the second section, a number of statements were made about history and the students had to choose how much they agreed on a scale from one to five (totally disagree to totally agree). This section was also divided into three parts: the first dealt with history at a more general level, the second had statements about how history could be used in more general situations and in

http://www.netigate.net/

http://www.netigate.net/

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education, and the third part had statements about history’s role in professional life and in SLU’s programs. There was also a yes-or-no question to find out if students knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU. In the third and final section, the survey included questions about the students with the purpose to identify any correlations between the students’ education programs and their interest in history. The survey asked what program they were enrolled in and in what year of the program they were. There was also a question asking if they had attended high school in Sweden and if they had studied history in high school. Table 1. Educational programs at SLU to which the survey was sent

Name of program Students’ admission to program (year)

Agronomy – Economics (Agronom – ekonomi) 2010 to 2014 Agronomy – Animal Science (Agronom – husdjur) 2010 to 2014 Agronomy – Rural Development (Agronom – landsbygdsutveckling) 2010 to 2014 Agronomy – Food Science (Agronom – livsmedel) 2010 to 2014 Agronomy – Soil/Plant (Agronom – Mark/växt) 2010 to 2014 Biology – Environmental (Biologi och miljövetenskap) 2010 to 2014 Biology – Biotechnology (Biologi – bioteknik) 2010 to 2014 Master of Engineering – Energy Systems (Civilingenjörsprogram – Energisystem)

2010 to 2012a

Master of Engineering – Environmental and Water Technology (Civilingenjörsprogram –Miljö- och vattenteknik)

2010 to 2014

Veterinary Nursing (Djursjukskötare) 2010 to 2014 Economics – Bachelor (Ekonomi – Kandidat) 2010 to 2014 Ethology and Animal Welfare (Etologi och djurskydd) 2010 to 2014 Horticulture (Hortonom) 2010 to 2014 Forestry (Jägmästare) 2010 to 2014 Landscape Architecture - Alnarp (Landskapsarkitekt - Alnarp) 2010 to 2014 Landscape Architecture – Ultuna (Landskapsarkitekt – Ultuna) 2010 to 2014 Agricultural Management (Lantmästare) 2010 to 2014 Forest Management (Skogsmästare) 2010 to 2014 Garden Engineering – Cultivation (Trädgårsingenjör – Odling ) 2010 to 2014 Garden Engineering – Design (Trädgårdsingenjör – Design) 2010 to 2014 Veterinary Medicine (Veterinär) 2010 to 2014 Landscape Engineering (Landskapsingenjör) 2010 to 2014 Animal Science – Bachelor (Husdjursvetenskap) 2010 to 2014 a I did not have access to 2013–2014 e-mail list.

The invitation to participate in the survey was sent by e-mail to the students with a very brief message in Swedish and English stating that by taking part in the survey they could impact their education and at the same time take part in a lottery for movie tickets. They also were told that the survey would take five minutes to complete and that it was about education, history, and SLU. By following the link in the e-mail they could start the survey. I also provided my name,

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position and department affiliation at my university, address (including e-mail), and phone number. For students using e-mail accounts provided by SLU it was possible to see a picture of me in the upper right corner of the e-mail. When entering the survey via the link, the students first had to choose a language (Swedish or English). Then, the students were directed to a page that explained the survey in more detail: Why they had received the survey (because they are students at SLU) and the purpose of the survey (“The survey seeks to learn how you feel about history as a subject and how important you think it is that SLU’s first-cycle programs include history in any form”). They were given information that the survey was made in the context of a course in pedagogics at SLU and that the survey may have implications for the future design of courses at SLU. I repeated that the survey would take five minutes to complete and added that the information would be treated confidentially. I also gave the rules for the lottery and said that to be eligible to win one of 10 movie tickets the students had to enter their e-mail address in the end of the survey. The purpose of the lottery was to give an incentive to complete the survey, and it was a small gesture of thanks. If the lottery had any impact on the result it is most likely that it encouraged people with little interest in history to enter the survey. However, the evidence about the potential effectiveness of prize drawings for a gift certificate in gaining participation “is mixed at best” (OQI 2010).

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3. Results Number and Response Rate In total, 998 students clicked the link in the e-mail to take the first step and choose a language (Survey History at SLU). Only four chose to do the English version. Of the total 998 students who started the survey, 865 completed it, giving a dropout rate of 13%. The largest dropout was during the introduction letter before answering the first question. Eight percent (8%, 82 individuals) left the survey at this point. This is consistent with studies on dropout rates showing that 10% of initial participants could be expected to drop out nearly instantaneously (Hoerger 2010). The reason for dropping out might have been lack of interest in history education, but that does not seem to be the case. Of the 27 students who answered that they had very little interest in history, no one dropped out of the survey. On the other hand, people with higher interest did drop out (completion rates correlated with interest in history, from very low interest to very high interest: 1 = 100%, 2 = 93%, 3 = 91%, 4 = 97%, and 5 = 98%). This supports the assumption that low interest in history did not increase the probability to drop out. There are myriad other reasons for people to drop out of a survey. What was the response rate for the survey? As mentioned above, 865 students completed the survey and the total number of recipients in the e-mail list was 4,831 students.1 However, many of them are not active students anymore; students may keep their e-mail account at SLU seven years after last registering in a course. Hence, many recipients were former students in the bachelor program and had already graduated. Almost all who received and answered the survey were active students. This is shown by the fact that of the 865 people who completed the survey only 18 people had graduated (2% of all answers). To get a reliable response rate one must match the number of responses with the number of students at SLU, not people included in the e-mail list. The number of full-year students in SLU’s undergraduate and graduate courses was 3,805 in 2014 (SLU 2014).2 But since the survey was not specifically aimed at or given to students in master programs, unless their addresses were in one of the 2010–2014 Bachelor e-mail lists I used for the survey, the number of students who received the survey was lower. There were 161 registered Master Program students in 2013 and 196 in 2014 (total of 357).3 With at least around 100 students missing from the e-mail list for other reasons, the response rate was approximately 25%. According to Rowley (2014), 20% can be regarded as a good response rate and the total number of responses makes the overall result of the survey robust. However, there is no consensus of what a good response rate is. It depends, for example, on the

1 Thanks to Kjell Gustafsson at SLU’s IT Support for the number. 2 The e-mail lists used were updated in the beginning of September 2014. 3 Thanks to Emma Capandegui at the Division of Educational Affairs at SLU for the number of master program students as of October 6, 2014.

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circumstances of the survey and how homogenous the target population is. Since students at SLU in many ways form a quite homogeneous group, regarding such characteristics as ethnic background, age, and interest in the scope of a small, specialized university’s mission, the high response rate in this survey makes the result reliable. Looking at the response rate in more detail, many of the programs had higher response rates, providing a solid ground to analyze relations between educational programs and history at SLU. Before going into the response rate in different programs, I have to say a few words about the number of programs. As mentioned earlier, SLU offers 24 programs. In the survey, I merged some of these programs: the two Biology programs into “Biology (Bachelor),” the two programs in Civil Engineering into “Engineering (Master),” the two Landscape Architecture programs at Alnarp and Ultuna campuses into “Landscape Architecture,” and the Cultivation and Design programs into “Garden Engineering.” For Veterinary Medicine, Forestry, and Landscape Architecture, more that 100 students completed the survey in each program. For nine other programs, there were between 30 and 60 answers per program. By merging the different programs into four larger themes—Agriculture/Environment, Animal Science, Garden/Landscape, and Forestry—it was possible to also analyze the programs with fewer answers. The number of answers in each theme and the programs included are shown in Table 2. These themes correspond to the University’s faculty divisions. Table 2. Four overarching themes (corresponds to the University’s faculty division), the programs included in these themes, and the number of answers from students in each theme

Themes Number of Answers Programs included

Agriculture/Environment (Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences (NJ))

220 Agronomy (Economics, Rural Development, Food Science, Soil/Plant), Biology, Engineering (Master), Economics (Bachelor), Agricultural Management

Animal Sciencea (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science (VH))

281 Agronomy (Animal Science), Veterinary Nursing, Animal Science (Bachelor), Ethology and Animal Welfare, Veterinary Medicine

Garden/Landscape (Faculty of Landscape Planning, Horticulture, and Crop Production Science (LTV))

201 Horticulture, Garden Engineering, Landscape Architecture, Landscape Engineering.

Forestry (Faculty of Forest Sciences (S))

148 Forestry Forest Management

Others 15 Mostly students in master programs a Contact information of students in the Hippology program (Equine Science) was missing and that group was not included in the survey.

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Overview I start by giving an overview of the results and after that go into how students in the different programs responded. Forty percent (40%) of the students at SLU have high (34%) or very high (6%) interest in history. Sixteen percent (16%) have low (13%) or very low (3%) interest in history (all statistics are in Appendix 2). Besides general history, students have higher interest in global history, followed by national history and local history. Social history shows more interest than economic history and political history. In subjects related to the core of SLU’s mission, agricultural history has the highest interest followed by history of natural resources. The only subjects that have an average below 3% are garden history and veterinary medicine history. However, when looking more closely at how students in different programs perceive different aspects of history, it becomes apparent that there are quite large differences between the programs. Almost all students think history gives them common knowledge; more than 90% agree and totally agree. Most students also think history provides perspectives on the present (87%) and that history provides context (75%). Only very few students think history is uninteresting (4%) and a few more think history is boring (13%). Looking into the four themes, students in the Animal Science programs score a little lower than the other three themes on interest in history, and more students from these programs think history is boring. When the students were asked if they think history is important for better understanding of other cultures, a majority agreed (82%). Three out of four students (73%) think it is important to consider the history of a place or site when developing land for future use. Only 6% of the students do not think this is important to consider. Two out of three (67%) students agree or totally agree with the statement that biodiversity, land use, and history are connected. Only 7% of the students do not think there is a connection. Half of the students (51%) think that a college education should always include some history courses/components while 21% of the students are of the opposite opinion. A majority of the students (56%) think they will get better in their future jobs if they have knowledge of the profession’s history. Fifteen percent (15%) do not think that history knowledge will make them better in their professional careers. When asked if they wanted more history linked to the education they study, the same percentages of students (34%) agreed and disagreed. The number of students who would like more general agrarian and forest histories in SLU classes make up 26%, while 44% do not want more. Twenty-nine percent (29%) of the students think there is too little history in their education, while only 6% think there is too much history. More than two out of three (71%) students at SLU do not know that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at the university. The students who responded to the survey are distributed quite equally over the study years and similar to the actual number of students in each year. The numbers of students in years two and three are a little higher than in year one. Almost all students (97%) had their high school education in Sweden. Only 14% did not take history in high school.

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Results for Programs

Agriculture/Environment (NJ Faculty) This theme consists of ten programs, most of them located at Ultuna Campus. Two of the programs are joint programs with Uppsala University.

Agronomy – Economics Forty-seven (47) students in this program completed the survey. The students have an interest in general history that is in line with the average student at SLU. Their interest in global history is above average and they scored the highest of all educational programs at SLU in their interest in economic history. Among subjects related to the core of SLU’s mission they have high interest in agricultural history, while their interests in the history of animal science and garden history are quite low (Table 3). Most of them think that history provides both perspective and context. A majority of them agree with the statement that one should consider the history of a place before developing land for future use and that biodiversity, land use, and history are connected. However, they scored lower on this than the average student at SLU and lower than other Agriculture/Environment students. The number of students who knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU are the second highest of all programs with 83%. Eight students provided thoughts about their education. Most of them expressed a desire to have more history as an integrated part of their education. One of them advocates more agrarian history and wrote, “I think it is important to study, for example, agrarian history, since it gives us an understanding of what society looks like today when it comes to the relation between countryside and cities, resource exploitation, etc. It might be best to have it [agrarian history] as an optional course in the programs that do not have a direct connection to the subject” (1.7).4 Another student concluded, “Interesting, but it should not take time from other subjects if the student by himself or herself makes the decision to go deeper into the subject” (1.4).

4 The number corresponds to Appendix 3, where all replies to the open question are listed. The first number corresponds to the program and the second to the order in which they are listed, i.e. 1.7 stands for Agronomy – Economics (1) and reply number 7. The replies were originally in Swedish (in almost all cases); the translations in this report were done by the author. In Appendix 3, all replies are given in the original language.

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Table 3. History interest and the importance of history for Agronomy – Economics students

Agronomy – Economics (n = 47) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.3

2. Agricultural history 3.8

3. Veterinary medicine history 2.0

4. One should consider the history of a place before developing land for future use 3.5

5. Biodiversity, land use, and history are connected 3.6

6. History knowledge will make you better in your professional careers 3.3

Notes: n = number of respondents. Average values represent the students’ interest in history and their opinions of the importance of history at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Values range from 1 for low interest or total disagreement with statement to 5 for high interest or total agreement with statement. Categories 1–3 represent interest in history, with 2 listing the topic with highest interest and 3 listing the topic with lowest interest related to SLU’s core mission.

Agronomy – Rural Development Sixty (60) students in this program completed the survey, and they have the highest interest in general history of all programs at SLU. They are particularly interested in global history and social history. Among the history subjects at the core of SLU’s mission, they have the highest interest in agrarian history followed by history of natural resource management (Table 4). They also scored high in environmental history. Students in the Rural Development program also scored highest when asked if history provides general knowledge and if history provides perspective and context (tied with Landscape Architecture students on the question about context). They strongly agree with the statement that history makes it easier to understand other cultures, and students in this program most strongly agree that a college education should include some history courses/components. To a large extent they agree with the statements that one should consider the history of a place before developing land for future use, and they strongly agree that biodiversity, land use, and history are connected. They scored high on the statement that they will get better at their jobs if they have knowledge in their profession’s history and a majority of them want more history linked to the education they study and want more general agrarian and forest histories in SLU programs. The Rural Development program is the program where most students knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU (93%) and a reason for this might be that they had a course in agrarian history during year one. Twenty (20) students provided their thoughts about history and almost all of them have a positive view of history and history education at SLU. One student concluded, “History provides an opportunity to understand the world and how society is constructed” (3.18). One student emphasized the connection between history education and the present: “I think history education is important. I’m very grateful that we had the opportunity to study agrarian history in the first year of the Rural Development program. To understand present-day rural society one needs knowledge about rural history” (3.13).

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Table 4. History interest and the importance of history for Agronomy – Rural Development students

Agronomy – Rural Development (n = 60) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.7







Agronomy – Food Science Twenty-three (23) students in this program completed the survey. Compared with the other Agronomy programs, they have less interest in history and scored below-average interest in all history subjects related to SLU’s core mission. They have very low interest in subjects like forest history and garden history (Table 5). However, a majority of them think they will improve in their future jobs if they have knowledge in the profession’s history. Of the seven students who provided comments, some expressed an interest in history connected to food and cooking. Some think that a little history as part of the lectures is good, but do not want it as a separate subject: “Could be interesting as background, for example, as an introduction to a lecture, but I’m not interested in a course in just history” (4.2). Other students would like more general history: “Would be interesting to study the agrarian history course, or more general about the profession (agronomist) through time” (4.5). But there are also students who value history knowledge in a more general sense: “Present time is a reflection of our history; to know about it is absolutely necessary for the development of our future” (4.6).

Table 5. History interest and the importance of history for Agronomy – Food Science students

Agronomy – Food Science (n = 23) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 2.8


3. Garden history 2.0





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Agronomy – Soil/Plant Thirty-four (34) students in this program completed the survey. Students in the Soil/Plant program have quite high interest in general history and scored a little above average for all students at SLU. Their highest interests lie in local history and national history, and they expressed high interest in global history and social history but not so much in political history and economic history. In history close to SLU’s mission, they have very high interest in agrarian history (Table 6). In history of natural resource management and forest history they scored higher than average. Very few of them think history is boring or uninteresting. They strongly agree that history provides general knowledge and gives perspective and context. They scored lower than average, but still agree, that one should consider the history of a place before developing land for future use. They agreed that they will be better in their jobs if they have knowledge of the profession’s history, and though it is a tie between students who want more history linked to their education and students who do not want more, a majority of them would like to have more general agrarian and forest histories in SLU courses. Sixty-five percent (65%) of the students knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU and this is the third highest of respondents in all programs at SLU. Eleven (11) students gave more elaborated comments. A few students mentioned that teachers in the program try to integrate history into the subject by elaborating over it during the first lectures. However, not all students think this is enough, and one student complained that there is specifically not enough agricultural history. He/she concluded, “It would have been interesting to have a mandatory course in agrarian history in the beginning of the program where one could discuss agriculture in different parts of the world and reflect on different agricultural systems in the past and present” (5.1). One student expressed that there are time constraints: “It [agrarian history] is an interesting subject, but compared to other courses during three or four years I think it will lose since all other courses will give more important knowledge to carry into one’s professional life” (5.5). One student wrote about the dilemma between existing courses and a wish for new courses: “I wish my program were more interdisciplinary and social science and history were in the program I attend. It would anchor knowledge in a better context and prepare me better for professional life. An alternative would be to expand the possibility to have open courses” (5.11). Table 6. History interest and the importance of history for Agronomy – Soil/Plant students

Agronomy – Soil-Plant (n = 34) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.4







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Biology – Bachelor Twenty-five (25) students in the two bachelor-level Biology programs completed the survey. Students in these programs scored lower on almost all questions about interest in different types of history compared to the average student at SLU. They also had the highest score of all programs on the question if history is boring. The only kind of history where they scored higher than the average student at SLU was in environmental history (Table 7). However, individual students in these programs had quite high interest in history. Even if a majority of the students in the Biology programs think they will be better in their job if they have knowledge in their profession’s history, few of them actually want more history linked to their program and even fewer want more general agrarian or forest histories in SLU courses. Only three students answered the open question at the end of the survey, and of them only one could be interpreted. It might be that this student is a voice for more students in the program when he or she expressed that “knowledge in history is ONLY useful in case it could be connected with processes and perspective on the present” (6.2). Table 7. History interest and the importance of history for Biology students

Biology (n = 25) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 2.7

2. Environmental history 4.4






Agricultural Management (Lantmästare) Eighteen (18) students in this program completed the survey. The number is in the lower range for statistical analyses, but the results are in line with other programs related to agriculture. The students in the Agricultural Management program have quite strong interest in history from global to local. They like social history and have a remarkably strong interest in agricultural history, scoring the highest of all programs at SLU for this category (Table 8). They have a general high interest in history connected to the core of SLU’s mission with the exception of garden history. They scored a little lower than the average student at SLU on the questions about considering the history of a place before developing land for future use and about the connection between biodiversity, land use, and history. They scored a little higher than the average student at SLU on the question if they want more history linked to the program they study and they are in the top five on the question if they would like to have more general

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agrarian and forest histories in their education. Hence, it is not surprising that most of them think there is too little history in their education. Only three of the students knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU. Seven students wrote comments reflecting the importance of history that most students in the Agricultural Management program expressed. One student argues that “since technical development has been very fast during the last 50 years, with large consequences for the soil and the environment, it is of utmost importance to know the historical development. Today, knowledge about the described development is very important if one wants to take part in the discussion in the sector and to promote development to a more sustainable world and a viable industry in Sweden” (15.6). One student expressed it almost as a proverb about knowing the past for guidance to the future (15.2), and one student just exclaimed “More History!” (15.7). Table 8. History interest and the importance of history for Agricultural Management students

Agricultural Management (n = 18) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.5







Master of Engineering and Bachelor in Economics Since the response rates in the two Master of Engineering programs and the Bachelor program in Economics were low, their responses will not be further analyzed.

Summary: Agriculture/Environment (NJ Faculty) Two hundred twenty (220) students in this theme answered the survey. Students from programs more directly related to agriculture and land use or rural development issues have a stronger interest in history than students in programs closer to microbiology. Most students scored higher on their interest in global history compared to their general interest in history. They have a particular interest in social history and of history connected to core subjects at SLU. Agricultural history is the most popular followed by history of natural resources (Table 9). They have less interest in history of veterinary medicine, landscape history, and garden history. They strongly agree that history gives perspective as well as context. Most of them agree that one should consider the history of a place before developing land for future use and that biodiversity, land use, and history are connected. Most of them think they will improve in their jobs if they have knowledge about their profession’s history. Their responses about more

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history linked to their education and more general agrarian and forest histories in SLU courses demonstrate that slightly more students want more history in their education compared to the overall average. Students from this theme are among the SLU students who were most familiar with the fact that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU and the subject was known particularly among students in the Agronomy programs. Table 9. History interest and the importance of history for students at the Faculty of Natural Resources and Agricultural Sciences (NJ)

Agriculture/Environment (n = 220) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.3


3. Veterinary medicine history / Garden history 2.3





Animal Science (VH Faculty) Animal Science consists of six programs that have been located at Ultuna campus since the fall of 2014. As mentioned earlier, there are no data for the Hippology (Equine Science) program, so results from only five of the programs are included in this section.

Agronomy – Animal Science Fifty-six (56) students in this program completed the survey. Students in Agronomy Animal Science scored lower than average on the question about interest in general history and lower than average on everything from global history to economic history. However, that does not mean that they lack interest in history. They expressed high interest in subjects at the core of SLU’s mission and scored very high on the history of domestic animals and high on agricultural history and history of veterinary medicine (Table 10). They scored lower in forest history and garden history compared to the overall average. To a lesser degree than most students at SLU, they think history provides perspective and context, although they scored quite high. A majority of them actually think they will be better in their jobs if they have knowledge about the profession’s history. Forty-five percent (45%) of the students knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU. Sixteen (16) students answered the open question at the end of the survey. These answers express many different views on history in their education among the students in the Agronomy Animal Science program. “History is quite insignificant in the program today” (2.3) is the opinion of one student; another expressed that there is “quite enough [history] in my education” (2.1), while a third wrote, “It [history] should

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be part of the program” (2.2). Some students think the teachers take history into account in their teaching: “In some courses the historical aspects are woven in nicely” (2.7). One student noted the benefit of history: “I think there should be more history [in education] since it explains a lot of how it is today” (2.15). One student complained that there are hardly any open courses in agrarian history: “What a pity that all open courses in agrarian history, except one, has been cancelled. I would gladly have taken the others’’ (2.12). Students were apparently talking to students in other programs and compared their programs. One student expressed his/her dissatisfaction with the comparison: “I have talked to a friend in the Landscape Architecture program (1st year) and she told me that they are taught agricultural history. I think it would have been of interest to us agronomists in the Animal Science program too, at least a few lectures in the introduction course the first semester” (2.9). Table 10. History interest and the importance of history for Agronomy – Animal Science students

Agronomy - Animal Science (n = 56) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.1

2. History of domestic animals 4.2






Ethology and Animal Welfare (Etologi och djurskydd) Thirty-six (36) students in Ethology and Animal Welfare program completed the survey. They show a pattern similar to students in Agronomy Animal Science, but their general interest in history is slightly higher and they have quite high interest in social history. They have very high interest in the history of domestic animals and scored quite high in history of veterinary medicine and above average in environmental history (Table 11). Their interest in garden history is low. They think history gives perspective and context, and a majority of them think a college education should always include some historical courses/components. Most students think the history part of their education is at the right level: “My opinion is that history is an important part in education if it is connected to the aim of the program; in my program this requirement is fulfilled” (10.4). However, there are different opinions, and one student complained, “[My] experience is that we don’t learn much history at SLU” (10.5). Another student thinks there is enough history in the program and expressed appreciation of “the Peter Hernqvist Day, which was interesting when it was introduced by a little talk about Peter Hernqvist and his life” (10.8).

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Table 11. History interest and the importance of history for Ethology and Animal Welfare students

Ethology and Animal Welfare (n = 36) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.3







Veterinary Nursing (Djursjukskötare) Fifty-four (54) students in Veterinary Nursing completed the survey. Students in this program scored lower than the average students at SLU in their interest in general history as well as other aspects of more traditional history. However, their interest in the history of some of the core subjects at SLU is well above average for all students. Their particular interest in the history of domestic animals was very high, and their interest in history of veterinary medicine was high (Table 12). They scored lower than the average student on the question of whether history gives perspective and context. They do not think history is common knowledge to the same extent that other students at SLU do. However, to say that they scored lower on those questions is not the same as to say they have low interest. Their opinions about history resemble those of students in other Animal Science programs, as expressed in their comments: “I think history is an interesting subject, but I do not think it is necessary to include more history in my program, since my teachers do a good job of providing us with necessary history” (8.1). One student expressed, “I think it is just enough history interwoven in my program. When a new course begins, the first lecture starts with history as a foundation for understanding where the discipline emanates from” (8.4). One student concluded, “It would be more interesting as an evening activity” (8.5), probably expressing that history education should not interfere with the other subjects in the program, but since many students have an interest in history they would voluntarily take open courses outside the program.

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Table 12. History interest and the importance of history for Veterinary Nursing students

Veterinary Nursing (n = 54) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 2.9






Notes: n = number of respondents. Average values represent the students’ interest in history and their opinions of the importance of history at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU). Values range from 1 for low interest or total disagreement with statement to 5 for high interest or total agreement with statement . Categories 1–3 represent interest in history, with 2 listing the topic with highest interest and 3 listing the topic with lowest interest related to SLU’s core mission.

Veterinary Medicine One hundred thirty-two (132) students in this program completed the survey. It is the highest number of answers among all programs at SLU. The answers from students in the Veterinary Medicine program resemble the answers from the other Animal Science programs. They have lower interest than most students at SLU in general history and in more traditional fields such as economic history and political history. Students in Veterinary Medicine have the highest interest in the history of veterinary medicine (Table 13). They scored almost as high on the history of domestic animals as the other programs in Animal Science. They strongly agree with the statement that history provides perspectives on the present, more so than with the statement that history provides context. Even though not many students overall think history is uninteresting, more students, but not the majority, in this program think history is boring. They disagree more with the statement that a college education should always include some historical courses/components compared with students in the other programs. Veterinary Medicine is the program in which the least number of students think they will improve in their jobs if they have knowledge of the profession’s history. This does not mean that most of them are uninterested in history. In the open question, which 15 students answered, many of the students expressed that they have an interest in history, but they do not want to sacrifice any other course for a course in history. One student wrote, “History is important to get the context, but it’s not possible to squeeze too much into a program. It is not possible to treat all programs at SLU the same” (18.13). Another student complained that “a little history of veterinary medicine wouldn’t hurt; however, it’s not possible to squeeze it in the already chock-full schedule. We have had to cover a lot over 5.5 years” (18.14). Some students expressed that their teachers are integrating history into their lectures: “The teachers mix in just enough history with a couple of slides in a PPT [PowerPoint] in the introduction of a new topic/subject” (18.15). However, not all students think this is enough: “It is nice when teachers come up with their own history, but it would have been better with ‘pure’ history” (18.8). One student compares the experience from being a Veterinary Medicine student in the Czech Republic with being a student at SLU. In Czech programs, they have a topic called Ethics and History of Veterinary Medicine. The course was,

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according to the student, “a little bit too profound, but at SLU history is more or less absent” (18.1), and the student wants a little more. Table 13. History interest and the importance of history for Veterinary Medicine students

Veterinary Medicine (n = 132) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.0







Animal Science – Bachelor program Fewer than 10 students in the Animal Science Bachelor program answered the survey. Their responses will not be further analyzed.

Summary: Animal Science (VH Faculty) In total, 281 students in the Animal Science theme answered the survey. This is the highest number of the four themes, and these students comprised almost one-third of the students who completed the survey. Despite the large number of Animal Science students who completed the survey, their general interest in history is lower than interest among students from the other themes. This strengthens the earlier assumption that willingness to complete the survey has nothing to do with whether or not a student has high interest in history (p. 18). Animal Science students’ highest interests are in global history and social history. When it comes to history connected to SLU’s mission, Animal Science students scored remarkably high on interest in the history of domestic animals and history of veterinary medicine, which is logical because these histories relate closely to their areas of study (Table 14). Animal Science students think to a lower extent than other students at SLU that they will improve in their jobs if they have knowledge of the profession’s history. Nevertheless, many of them think they would improve. The impression is that many of them would appreciate an opportunity for open courses in history that they could attend. Only 17% of them knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU.

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Table 14. History interest and the importance of history for students at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science (VH)

Animal Science (n = 281) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.0







Garden/Landscape (LTV Faculty) Garden/Landscape consists of five programs. Four are located at Alnarp Campus and one is located at Ultuna Campus.

Horticulture Twelve (12) students in the Horticulture program completed the survey. It is quite a small number and makes it hard to state general comments. Students in this program have quite high interest in general history, with a particular interest in garden history, and in agricultural history, the history of natural resources management, and forest history (Table 15). They agree quite strongly that one should consider the history of a place when developing land for future use. The students from this program are among those who most strongly want more history linked to their education, and it is the program where the students most strongly agree that they would like to have more general agrarian and forest histories at SLU. One-third of them knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU. Only two students answered the open question in the end of the survey about their thoughts on history at SLU. One expressed that his/her teachers are integrating history in their teaching, but that it is not enough: “Teachers usually include a little about what [horticulture] has looked like historically, but not enough to make one comprehend it” (12.2).

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Table 15. History interest and the importance of history for Horticulture students

Horticulture (n = 12) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.6







Landscape Architecture There are two different programs in Landscape Architecture at SLU, one at Alnarp Campus and one at Ultuna Campus. The survey did not ask which of the two programs the student attended. One hundred twelve (112) students in the two Landscape Architecture programs completed the survey. It is the third-largest number from all programs included in the survey. Students from these programs have a general history interest in line with many other programs but scored a little higher than the average program in their interest in local history. They are not particularly interested in agricultural history or forest history, but have high interest in landscape history, garden history, and quite high interest in environmental history (Table 16). They strongly agree that history is common knowledge and they strongly agree that history gives perspective and context. Very few of them think history is uninteresting. The students in these programs tied at the highest score with Landscape Engineering when it comes to the question of whether they will improve in their jobs if they have knowledge of the profession’s history. Most of them think that the element of history in their education is currently the right amount. About one-third of them knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU. Forty-one (41) students answered the open question, the highest number for all programs. Many of the responses expressed that they have history as a part of their education and that they are quite satisfied with it both in the amount of history and with the content in their education. One student concluded his/her view by stating, “Relevant and absolutely sufficient in my program” (14.1), and one expressed appreciation that history education has connection to a his/her future professional career: “Good with the link [of history education] to the educational program. We quickly got an insight into how we will use history in our professional lives” (14.21). But there are different opinions and quite a few students are not satisfied with the amount of history taught and expressed that there is a lack of history education at a deeper level or that history is too focused on a narrow scope. These students want a broader scope, not limit history education to parks. One student went outside SLU to get a deeper understanding of history and wrote: “It is both fun and interesting with history. I took a course in history at Lund University and it has totally changed my perception on humans. At SLU there is very little history in the courses, and what’s in them is often the most obvious, as the largest parks, etc.” (14.6). More students had a

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similar view: “Within the Landscape Architecture program I have had only one course in history. It was about what parks looked like during different epochs. This is of course important to have knowledge of, but I would have appreciated more general landscape history, something like history with emphasis on the everyday landscape” (14.9). “I have just started, and we have had one course in history so far (Landscape and the History of the Park, 10 credits) and I’m unsure if there will be more. It would have been fun if one also touched upon landscape and forest history to give a better understanding of the present situation. The course we were taught only encompassed gardens and grounds” (14.10). Some students think the amount of garden history that they have today is not enough and that it is important to integrate history in the courses. One student remarked about the history education: “It should have been an integrated part in the education” (14.4), and one student complained, “ I took a course in park and garden history but it was quite unproblematic and Eurocentric. I would like to see more elements of history in other courses too, since knowledge in the historical context always is relevant, regardless the course” (14.8). A few students think the history courses they have could be changed to better reflect the students’ interests. Hardly anyone expressed that there is too much history or that it is irrelevant. The number of answers and the content in them might be interpreted as an expression of the Landscape Architecture students’ commitment and appreciation of history in their education, but that it could be improved. Table 16. History interest and the importance of history for Landscape Architecture students

Landscape Architecture (n = 112) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.4

2. Landscape history 4.1






Garden Engineering (Trädgårdsingenjör) There are two programs in Garden Engineering at SLU Alnarp Campus, one in cultivation and one in design. The survey did not ask which of the two programs the student attended. Forty-five (45) students in Garden Engineering completed the survey. Students in these programs have higher interest in history than the average student at SLU and high interest in global, local, and social histories. This high interest in history is reflected in their interest in history connected to the core of SLU’s education. They have very high interest in garden history, the largest of all programs, and high interest in environmental history, landscape history, and the history of natural resources (Table 17). They strongly agree that history gives perspective and context, and very few of them think history in uninteresting. The students in these programs are

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the ones who most strongly agree that biodiversity, land use, and history are connected. Students in this program, together with students in Landscape Architecture, most strongly agree that they will improve in their jobs if they have knowledge in the profession’s history. Students in this program most clearly expressed that they want more history that is linked to their education. Many of them also want more general agrarian and forest histories. Only 16% of them knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU. One-third of them answered the open question about history, and almost all of them expressed high interest in history and that there should be more history in their education. One student expressed in two sentences the overarching result for Garden Engineering: “My program (Garden Engineering Design) only includes a 7.5 credit course in garden history. I would like to learn a little more in the subject” (17.1). The two programs in Garden Engineering—Cultivation and Design—differ when it comes to how much history they provide, and one student complained, “I think it is a major flaw in the education that there is so little garden history and cultivation history. [Garden Engineering] Design has some, but [Garden Engineering] Cultivation has hardly anything. … It is important to have knowledge about how one cultivated in the past, to learn from it” (17.2). However, students in the Design program want more history too: “In the program Garden Engineering Design we only have a short course in garden history. I would have preferred more” (17.14). One student advocated open courses: “I would gladly see open courses in history” (17.12). Another student expressed that history is important for critical thinking and pointed to the fact that there are different ways to interpret history and it is critical to other branches of SLU: “When the forest is considered, it would be good to inform our colleagues in [Umeå] that forest/agricultural history about agricultural land planted with trees is much more complicated than what is usually told. But history is written by the victors and the students [are not aware] that the numbers on a piece of paper do not tell the whole truth” (17.3). One made his/her point by just exclaiming, “There should be more history at SLU” (17.10). Table 17. History interest and the importance of history for Garden Engineering students

Garden Engineering (n = 45) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.5







Landscape Engineering Thirty-two (32) students in Landscape Engineering completed the survey. The students in this program have quite high interest in history with higher interest in local history than the average

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SLU student and lower interest in political history. In history related to the main topics in SLU’s education, students in this program showed their highest interests in landscape history, the history of natural resources, and garden history (Table18). They scored less than the average student on questions if history provides perspective and context. Most of them strongly and quite strongly agree that one should consider the history of a place when developing land for future use. The majority of them also think they will improve in their jobs if they have knowledge of the profession’s history. A large part, two out of five students (total 13), answered the open question at the end of the survey. Almost all of them have a positive view of history, although not all of them think that the program needs more history education or that history is always taught in the best way. One student expressed this by saying, “I think we have had too little history in the program, but if one had used the history credits we have taken in a more efficient way we would have been able to learn more in the subject” (20.8). Many of the answers expressed an appetite for more history: “Since I have a interest in history, I think of course that more history about soil and forest should be in the Landscape Engineering program – even though we have garden history, it is not the same as agrarian history. … More agricultural and forest history, thanks!” (20.1). “We should have had more garden history” (20.2) was what one student said, and others expressed the same thing. About the amount of history education in the program, one student made it short by saying, “Much too little” (20.7). One student wants to avoid history, even though he or she thinks it is important: “Important subject, but according to me very boring. It should be optional” (20.3). Table 18. History interest and the importance of history for Landscape Engineering students

Landscape Engineering (n = 32) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.4

2. History of natural resources 3.5






Summary: Garden/Landscape (LTV Faculty) In total, 201 students answered the survey from the theme Garden/Landscape. They expressed high interest in general history and they scored highest of all groups on interest in social history and particularly high in global and local histories. When it comes to history connected to SLU’s mission (SLU 2014) in garden and landscape, students scored highest on interest in garden history and landscape history, but they also have high interest in history of natural resources and environmental history (Table 19). They scored very high (and above all other groups) on the questions if history gives perspective and provides context as well as on the questions about

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whether or not one should consider the history of a place before developing land for future use and if biodiversity, land use, and history are connected. According to these answers, it is not a surprise that students from garden and landscape programs are the students who most think they would benefit from history in their professional lives. Twenty four percent (24%) of the students knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU. Table 19. History interest and the importance of history for students at the Faculty of Landscape Planning, Horticulture, and Crop Production Science (LTV)

Garden/Landscape (n = 201) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.4







Forestry (S Faculty) Forestry consists of two programs. One is located on Umeå Campus and one on Skinnskatteberg Campus.

Forestry (Jägmästare) One hundred thirteen (113) students in the Forestry program completed the survey. This is the second-highest number of all programs. Students in this program have higher general interest in history than the average student at SLU. They are interested in almost all kinds of more traditional history, but score a little lower for political and economic histories. They have very high interest in forest history and score quite high on interest in the history of natural resources management and agrarian history (Table 20). Most of them think that one should consider the history of a place before developing it for future use, but students at the Forestry program scored slightly lower than the average of other programs on this question. They also scored lower on the question if a college education should always include some historical courses/components. They quite strongly agree that they will improve in their future jobs if they have knowledge about the profession’s history, and most of them want more history linked to their education as well as more teaching of general agrarian and forest histories at SLU. Only 10% of the students knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU. Thirty-three (33) students, or 29%, answered the open question. Many of them expressed a desire for more history in the program, mandatory or optional. “We have had one excursion in forest history, and it was the best excursion so far during my education. There is a Forest History course, but it is only given every second year and not all students can take it. I wish

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there were more opportunity to study it!” (13.1), one student complained. Students who took the Forest History course seem to appreciate it: “The Forest History course that was optional was really good” (13.7). However, not all students can take the course and another student complained, “There is only one course in forest history, but it is only given every second year, and I will not be able to take it. This is a great pity since there isn’t enough history in the program” (13.11). One student wrote that the Forest History course is now given every year, but it is given when other useful courses are given so it is hard to attend (13.32). Some students are critical of the little amount of history in the program: “Use of natural resources had been at the center of human activity since day one, therefore it should be obvious that everybody who will work with these questions need more than high school education [in history]” (13.10). One student expressed the same opinion but was harsher to SLU: “[It is my] opinion that SLU has totally missed a very important part of the basic knowledge that one should have when working with natural resourse use/exploitation. … [I] think this is very unfortunate since I can see that this knowledge is missing by many in the subject [Forestry] in discussion about natural resources. This part [history] should be part of every course and be thoroughly dealt with from the beginning of the Forestry program” (13.8). Some students were more satisfied with the amount of history the program has today and suggested that students who want more could choose optional courses: “I think it is good and the right amount in the Forestry program today. [There] is an extra course to choose for those interested” (18.20). But many students expressed that history could be a greater part of their educational program, and one student put it concisely, exclaiming, “Good what we received, but too little” (13.4). One student expressed that he/she missed learning history about the Sami people (13.29). Table 20. History interest and the importance of history for Forestry students

Forestry (n = 113) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.5

2. Forest history 4.2






Forest Management (Skogsmästare) Thirty-five (35) students in the Forest Management program completed the survey. Students in this group have a general interest in history just above the average of all students at SLU. They distinguished themselves in the sense that they had the highest interest in local history of all programs and very high interest in forest history that could only be compared with the interest shown by the students in the Forestry program (Table 21). Most of them strongly agreed that

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history gives perspective and context. Most of them thought that a college education should always include some historical courses/components. They scored lower than the average SLU student regarding whether or not one should consider the history of a place when developing it for future use and on the question if biodiversity, land use, and history are connected. They quite strongly agree that they will improve in their jobs if they have knowledge of the profession’s history. However, quite a large share of them does not want more history in their education. Only 6% of the students knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU. Many students in the Forest Management program appreciated that teachers have a personal interest in history. However, with no particular idea how history should be a part of the educational program, one student concluded, “Sometimes in very great detail – sometimes nothing at all” (16.1). One student was satisfied with the amount of history they have today, but expressed that it has been “perhaps a little too much technical history for my taste” (16.2). One student thought that “older history is important” and claimed that “we had too much technical history (1960s to 1990s)” (16.3). One student expressed that history provides context and argues that history is an “important element to give a comprehensive picture” (16.5). Another student complained about how lack of history could be a problem and gave an example where history would have been useful: “Too little history at SLU. It is good to have a background to understand the present. We are, for example, studying the Forestry Act [skogsvårdslagen] but are not given any information about its background. There probably were opinions and political decisions that formed the law” (16.4). Table 21. History interest and the importance of history for Forest Management students

Forest Management (n = 35) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.4







Summary: Forestry (S Faculty) In total, 148 students in the two educational programs of Forestry answered the survey. Students in these programs have the highest interest in history of all students at SLU and, not surprisingly, the highest interest of all groups in forest history (Table 22). They also have quite high interests in agrarian history and the history of natural resources. They scored very high on the questions if history gives perspective and provides context. To a very high degree they see connections among biodiversity, land use, and history, and a clear majority of them think that college education should always include some historical courses. Most of them think they will get better in their jobs if they have knowledge of their profession’s history. Only 9% of them

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knew that Agrarian History is an independent graduate degree program at SLU. Table 22. History interest and the importance of history for students at the Faculty of Forest Sciences (S)

Forestry (n = 148) Average (1 to 5) 1. General history 3.5







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4. Discussion The survey has clearly shown that students at SLU have quite high interest in history in one form or another. A few students think history is uninteresting and boring with little connection to their own educational interests, but those students are few and outliers according to this survey. When the students were asked what kind of history they are most interested in, many of them with quite low interest in general history showed high interest in history closely connected to their own education. As an example, students in Animal Science who have lower interest in general history than the average student at SLU show higher than average interest in histories of veterinary medicine and domestic animals. Students in the Forestry programs have high interest in forest history, etc. As mentioned earlier, many students at SLU are committed to their education. They have chosen to study at SLU because they have a genuine interest in one or several of the subjects taught at the university. This commitment to their studies in general is reflected in their interest in history. History connected to their program is very important to them. However, whether they want more history in their curriculum is another matter, since more history in their educational program could interfere with required courses. Whether the students want their interest in history to become part of their educational program varies to some extent and depends on the benefit they think they will receive from studying it. For many students, it is easier to see the connection between history and land-use management, than between history and treatment of animals or microbiology. It is usually harder for students in the Veterinary Medicine program to see the direct benefit of history than it is for students in the Landscape Architecture program. However, as the survey has shown, many students in the Animal Science programs appreciate history and want it as an integrated part of their programs or as open courses. How connected a program is to land-use management is not the only aspect associated with students’ being in favor of history education. It is striking that students in programs that already have history in their curricula, such as Garden Engineering, Landscape Engineering, Agronomy Rural Development, and Landscape Architecture, react more positively to history than students in programs with no history explicitly incorporated. The students who are taught history today appreciate the benefit of history more, and they think to a larger extent that a college education always should include some historical courses/components. Students who actually have history could more easily comprehend its benefit. Hence, it is likely that students in programs that do not have a history component, such as the programs in Animal Science, would have reacted more positively to the subject if it were already part of their curricula. The survey shows that most students at SLU think that history education gives both perspective in their own subjects and provides context in the sense that history makes it easier to see connections and better understand the main subjects in their educational programs. Usually the

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main argument for the study of history is not utilitarian; however, the survey clearly demonstrates that many students perceive history education as a subject they could benefit from. Most of the students believe they will be better in their professional lives if they know the history of their own professions. This thought is most strongly expressed for educational programs in gardening and landscape, such as Landscape Architecture and Garden Engineering, but students in the Rural Development (Agronomy), Forestry, and Agriculture programs also have strong feelings that history education is beneficial for them. Examples of this would be that a majority of the students expressed that there are connections among biodiversity, land use, and history or that one should consider the history of a place before developing it for future use. They expressed a link between biodiversity and sustainable land-use management and history that has a very direct connection to the mission statement for SLU. The survey has shown that many students think history is part of a general knowledge that students graduating from SLU should have. Today, the university provides this general knowledge through history courses that are part of some, but not all, education programs. Some of these courses are mandatory, others are optional. Some students get a little history because they have teachers who digress into history from their main subjects or introduce a new topic with its historical background. The students often appreciate this but the open question in the survey shows that this type of ad hoc teaching of history lacks important parts. In the best case, it broadens the students’ knowledge, but it could also give spotty information unrelated to contemporary science or too focused on details. Many students at SLU get very little, if any, history education at all.

Implications for Teaching To fulfill the students’ requests for more general knowledge in history, SLU must rethink how history is integrated into its educational programs. I do not present a one-size-fits-all solution here but elaborate more on some general thoughts. In the end, every program has to determine how to implement history teaching, and how to best achieve this will have to be a discussion among representatives of the program, students, and teachers in history at SLU. The answer for one program might be history as part of a mandatory introduction course; for another program it might be a history course within the program. To better use the professional knowledge in history that is present at SLU, i.e. Agrarian History at Ultuna, Forest History at Umeå, and Garden History at Alnarp, a closer cooperation between these groups would be beneficial. It is also important that the Agrarian History course become better known within the university. As of today, less than 30% of the students know that it is an independent graduate degree program. SLU has many teachers with great interest in the histories of their fields. Each has a deep interest in his/her subject as an academic discipline, but also an interest in a broader sense that includes history. These teachers are assets when it comes to history education, but as mentioned above, students have sometimes seen problems in what they can provide. To strengthen these

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teachers’ capabilities in teaching history, a possibility would be to work together with senior lecturers in history. One major conclusion from the survey is that many students want open courses in history connected to their education, i.e. agrarian history, forest history, etc., not just one course with no option to advance to a higher level. Hence, the students are arguing for specific knowledge in history, and many students perceive history as an important component to add to their education program at SLU. The students mainly use two arguments when urging for specific historic knowledge. The first and most obvious is that they have a desire to dig deeper into history and that open courses in history give context and perspectives, and would provide them with tools for critical thinking. The second argument is that despite a great interest in history, they do not want history courses to interfere with their present curricula. They think that all the courses they are taught today are necessary for their education and therefore there is no space for a new subject. However, since they also want history, it would have to be as open courses, and many of them would prefer if the open courses were given at times when there are no required courses for their degrees, for example in the evenings. Students from almost all programs are in favor of open courses, but students from Animal Science programs are the ones who most commonly use the second argument. The survey shows that 27% of all students at SLU want more general agriculture and forest history courses. There are other arguments for open courses in history at SLU than the two above. For instance, Agrarian History is a unique course taught only at SLU of all universities in Sweden and there are many potential students from other places who have an interest in the subject. However, this report presents the results of the survey targeting students at SLU and their opinions about history and education. Thus these other arguments are not further considered here. However, one other argument for open courses connected to the students’ educational programs at SLU must be further developed. It is the question about the possibility for students at SLU to continue with Agrarian History at the doctoral level at SLU. Agrarian history is an interdisciplinary subject, and SLU is the only university in Sweden where students can obtain a doctoral degree in it. The PhD students who up to 2012 had been recruited to the Agrarian History program have had degrees from SLU as well as from other universities. Now when most open courses in agrarian history are cancelled, it will be hard for students from SLU to be eligible for a PhD program in Agrarian History. This is not good for the program nor for SLU. While the program could recruit PhD students from anywhere, it is a real pity that students from SLU with high interest in agricultural issues will not be eligible to enter this education path. There is also an imminent risk that the program will lose its interdisciplinary nature since many of the PhD students recruited from natural science backgrounds have had a degree from SLU, while PhD students with backgrounds in social science and humanities have obtained their degrees from other universities. The Agrarian History program has always had extensive contact with society outside the university. When it was still possible to get admission to open courses in agrarian history (before 2012), a large number of the students who enrolled were employed at museums, agencies within the government, and other organizations where knowledge in history improved

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their work performance. The program has also had several industrial PhD students from organizations that want to increase their employees’ knowledge. An industrial doctorate student is employed in an organization outside the university. This person becomes a link between research and the organization’s development work. In this sense, agrarian history has been in line with SLU’s long tradition of working with various sectors and public authorities in the field of SLU’s core subjects. To further develop collaboration and extension activities, the university has introduced 18 senior lectureships with extension duties. From the results of the survey, one can conclude that a majority of the students think they will be better in their professional lives if they study history. Hence, the link between the Agrarian History program and organizations outside the university, in veterinary and agricultural practices, could be strengthened and collaborations could be promoted by creating a senior lectureship in Agrarian History with extension duties. This would strengthen links to sectors that have not traditionally been within the scope of agrarian history. A senior lectureship with extension duties could also collaborate within SLU. Many of the devoted teachers at SLU who incorporate history in their own teaching, as mentioned above, could receive support in their teaching from a senior lecturer with extension duties.

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mailto:[email protected]

History at SLU You have received this survey because you are a student at SLU The survey seeks to learn how you feel about history as a subject and how important you think it is that SLU's firstcycle programs include history in any form. The survey is made in the context of a course in pedagogics at SLU. The survey may have implications for the design of courses at SLU. The survey takes 5 minutes to complete and the information will be treated confidentially. If you fill in your name at the end you are eligible to win one of 10 movie tickets. Thanks for your participation! Jesper Larsson Agrarian history at SLU

How would you describe your interest in history in general

Very little Little Neither little or large Large Very large

□ □ □ □ □

How much interest do you have in

Very little 2 3 4 Very large Don't know/N/A

Global history □ □ □ □ □ □National history □ □ □ □ □ □Local history □ □ □ □ □ □War history □ □ □ □ □ □Political history □ □ □ □ □ □Social history (family, household, working life, etc.)

□ □ □ □ □ □

Economic history □ □ □ □ □ □


Very little 2 3 4 Very large Don't know

Agrarian history □ □ □ □ □ □Forest History □ □ □ □ □ □History of Veterinary Medicine

□ □ □ □ □ □Environmental History □ □ □ □ □ □History of Domestic Animals

□ □ □ □ □ □Landscape History □ □ □ □ □ □History of Natural Resources

□ □ □ □ □ □

Garden History □ □ □ □ □ □Other history I am interested in _________________________________

How do you perceive the following statements

Totally disagree 2 3 4 Totally agree Don't know

History is common knowledge

□ □ □ □ □ □History provides perspective on the present

□ □ □ □ □ □History is uninteresting □ □ □ □ □ □History provides context

□ □ □ □ □ □History is boring □ □ □ □ □ □Comments _________________________________



History is important for better understanding other cultures

□ □ □ □ □ □When developing land for future use one should consider the history of a place or site

□ □ □ □ □ □

A college education should always include some historical courses/components

□ □ □ □ □ □

When I travel to a place I usually find out something about its history

□ □ □ □ □ □Biodiversity, land useand history are connected.

□ □ □ □ □ □



I get better at my job if I have knowledge of the profession's history

□ □ □ □ □ □

I want more of history that is linked to the education I study

□ □ □ □ □ □

I would like to have more general agrarian and forest history in teaching at SLU

□ □ □ □ □ □

I think the element of history in my education at SLU is

Much too little 2 3 4 Much too big Don't know

□ □ □ □ □ □

I know that agrarian history is an independent subject at SLU

□ Yes

□ No

I attend the following program/education

□ Agronomy Economics

□ Agronomy Domestic animals

□ Agronomy rural development

□ Agronomy food science

□ Agronomy soil/plant

□ Biology

□ Master of Engineering

□ Animal husbandry (Djurskötare)

□ Economics (Bachelor)

□ Ethology

□ Hippology

□ Horticulture

□ Forestry (Jägmästare)

□ Agricultural technology (Lantmästare)

□ Forest management (Skogsmästare)


□ Garden designer (Trädgårdsingenjör)

□ Veterinary Medicine

□ Other

Please, specify if you have chosen other _________________________________

I study year

□ 1

□ 2

□ 3

□ 4

□ 5

□ I have graduated

The main part of my high school education was in

□ Sweden

□ Other country in the EU (Includes Norway, Switzerland and Iceland)

□ Country outside of EU

I took history in high school

□ Yes

□ No

Some words and thoughts about history at SLU

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you want to be in the lottery to win one of 10 movie tickets?It is optional to enter your email address, but only the one who does it can be entered in the drawing.

Enter your email to be eligible to win one of 10 movie tickets _________________________________

Many thanks for your participation Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. The results of the study will be presented in a report by the end of May 2015 and will be possible to download at http://www.slu.se/en/departments/urbanruraldevelopment/start/ You can find more about me at http://www.slu.se/en/departments/urbanruraldevelopment/aboutus1/department/agrarian1/larsson/ Thanks! Jesper Larsson

Appendix 1 History, Students, and Education

39




□ □ □ □ □




□ □ □ □ □ □







□ □ □ □ □ □












□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □



□ □ □ □ □ □




□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □



□ □ □ □ □ □


□ Yes

□ No







□ Biology




□ Ethology

□ Hippology

□ Horticulture







□ Other


I study year

□ 1

□ 2

□ 3

□ 4

□ 5



□ Sweden




□ Yes

□ No


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________





40




□ □ □ □ □




□ □ □ □ □ □







□ □ □ □ □ □












□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □



□ □ □ □ □ □




□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □



□ □ □ □ □ □


□ Yes

□ No







□ Biology




□ Ethology

□ Hippology

□ Horticulture







□ Other


I study year

□ 1

□ 2

□ 3

□ 4

□ 5



□ Sweden




□ Yes

□ No


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________





41




□ □ □ □ □




□ □ □ □ □ □







□ □ □ □ □ □












□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □



□ □ □ □ □ □




□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □



□ □ □ □ □ □


□ Yes

□ No







□ Biology




□ Ethology

□ Hippology

□ Horticulture







□ Other


I study year

□ 1

□ 2

□ 3

□ 4

□ 5



□ Sweden




□ Yes

□ No


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________





42




□ □ □ □ □




□ □ □ □ □ □







□ □ □ □ □ □












□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □



□ □ □ □ □ □




□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □


□ □ □ □ □ □



□ □ □ □ □ □


□ Yes

□ No







□ Biology




□ Ethology

□ Hippology

□ Horticulture







□ Other


I study year

□ 1

□ 2

□ 3

□ 4

□ 5



□ Sweden




□ Yes

□ No


__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________





43

44


45

APPENDIX 2 Appendix 2 presents the responses to the survey. In this appendix questions and response alternatives are abbreviated. Full questions and response alternatives are presented in Appendix 1.

1. How would you describe your interest in history in general?

Level of interest Number of student respondents

Percent of student respondents (rounded %)

1 Very little 27 3,1 2 Little 115 13,3 3 Neither little nor large 375 43,4 4 Large 295 34,1 5 Very Large 53 6,1

Total 865 100

2. How much interest do you have in history? (Scores indicate averages for programs.)

Program Row No. General Global National Local War Political Social Economic

Ag – Ec. 1 47 3,3 3,8 3,3 3,3 3,1 3,2 3,2 3,9 Ag – Dom. An 2 56 3,1 3,1 2,9 3,2 2,6 2,5 3,3 2,1 Ag – Rur Dev 3 60 3,7 4,0 3,9 3,7 2,7 3,7 4,2 3,0 Ag - Food 4 23 2,8 3,0 3,0 3,3 2,3 2,6 3,8 2,0 Ag - Soil 5 34 3,4 3,6 3,7 3,7 3,2 3,3 3,8 2,8 Biology 6 25 2,7 3,4 3,4 3,0 2,9 2,4 3,2 2,2 Cicil Eng 7 4 2,5 3,3 2,8 2,8 2,5 2,0 2,0 3,0 An. Nurs. 8 54 2,9 3,3 2,9 2,9 2,7 2,2 3,1 1,8 Econ - Ba 9 9 3,2 4,1 3,9 3,4 3,9 3,1 3,2 3,3 Ethology 10 36 3,3 3,5 3,3 3,1 2,9 2,3 3,6 2,0 Hortic 12 12 3,6 3,7 3,3 3,5 2,7 2,8 3,4 2,8 Forstry 13 113 3,5 3,6 3,6 3,6 3,3 3,0 3,3 2,8 Landsc Arch 14 112 3,4 3,6 3,4 3,5 2,6 3,1 3,8 2,6 Ag. mana 15 18 3,5 3,5 3,6 3,6 2,8 3,0 3,6 3,3 Fores manag 16 35 3,4 3,5 3,7 3,9 3,3 3,0 3,4 3,2 Gard - eng 17 45 3,5 3,7 3,4 3,7 2,8 2,8 3,9 2,4 Veterinär 18 132 3,0 3,4 3,1 2,9 2,7 2,6 3,3 2,2 Landca eng 20 32 3,4 3,5 3,3 3,7 2,8 2,6 3,5 2,4 Anim Scie 21 3 3,7 3,0 2,3 3,3 1,7 2,0 2,7 2,7 Other 22 15 3,0 3,1 3,5 3,1 2,5 2,4 3,4 2,0

Total 865 3,3 3,5 3,3 3,3 2,9 2,8 3,5 2,6

Appendix 2 History, students, and Education

46

3. H

ow

mu

ch in

tere

st d

o y

ou

hav

e in

his

tory

? (S

core

s in

dic

ate

aver

age

s fo

r p

rogr

ams.

)

Prog

ram

R

ow

Num

ber

Agra

rian

His

tory

Fo

rest

H

isto

ry

Vete

rinar

y M

edic

ine

Envi

ronm

enta

l H

isto

ry

Dom

estic

an

imal

s La

ndsc

ape

hist

ory

Nat

ural

R

esou

rces

G

arde

n hi

stor

y Ag

- Ek

onom

1

47

3,8

3,0

2,0

2,8

2,6

3,0

3,3

2,0

Ag -

Hus

djur

2

56

3,9

2,9

3,4

3,2

4,2

2,8

3,1

2,1

Ag -

Land

sbyg

ds u

tv

3 60

4,

2 3,

2 2,

1 3,

7 3,

2 3,

3 4,

0 2,

5 Ag

- Li

vsm

edel

4

23

3,0

2,2

2,2

2,8

2,8

2,3

2,9

2,0

Ag -

Mar

k/vä

xt

5 34

4,

4 3,

6 2,

4 3,

4 3,

3 3,

3 3,

6 2,

8 Bi

olog

i 6

25

2,8

2,7

2,6

3,4

2,8

2,9

3,2

2,4

Civ

iling

7 4

2,5

2,5

1,8

3,5

1,5

3,0

3,8

2,8

Dju

rsju

kskö

tare

8

54

2,6

2,2

3,7

3,0

4,0

2,3

2,5

1,8

Ekon

omi

9 9

2,4

2,4

2,0

3,0

2,0

2,7

3,0

2,3

Etol

ogi/d

jurs

kydd

10

36

3,

3 2,

7 3,

5 3,

4 4,

5 2,

9 3,

3 2,

0 H

orto

nom

12

12

3,

8 3,

7 2,

8 3,

4 3,

1 3,

3 3,

8 4,

1 Jä

gmäs

tare

13

11

3 3,

4 4,

2 2,

0 3,

1 2,

6 3,

2 3,

5 2,

0 La

ndsk

apsa

rkite

k 14

11

2 2,

8 2,

7 1,

8 3,

5 2,

3 4,

3 3,

5 3,

8 La

ntm

ästa

re

15

18

4,6

3,9

3,2

3,3

3,6

3,1

3,5

2,3

Skog

smäs

tare

16

35

3,

5 4,

1 2,

0 2,

9 2,

7 3,

1 3,

2 2,

1 Tr

ädgå

rdsi

ngen

jör

17

45

3,6

3,3

2,4

3,7

3,0

3,7

3,6

4,6

Vete

rinär

18

13

2 3,

2 2,

6 4,

1 3,

2 3,

9 2,

7 2,

8 2,

1 La

ndsk

apsi

ngen

jör

20

32

2,8

2,8

1,9

2,9

2,3

3,5

3,5

3,4

Hus

djur

svet

ensk

ap

21

3 3,

7 2,

7 2,

7 3,

3 4,

7 3,

3 3,

0 2,

3 An

nat

22

15

3,6

2,9

2,7

3,1

3,7

2,7

2,9

2,1

Tota

l 86

5 3,

4 3,

1 2,

7 3,

2 3,

2 3,

1 3,

3 2,

6


47

4. H

ow

mu

ch in

tere

st d

o y

ou

hav

e in

th

e b

road

cat

ego

rie

s o

f h

isto

ry?

(Sco

res

ind

icat

e a

vera

ges

for

them

es.

) Th

eme

Row

V

alue

s C

ount

G

ener

al

Glo

bal

Nat

iona

l Lo

cal

War

P

oliti

cal

Soc

ial

Eco

nom

ic

Ag/

Env

1

220

3,3

3,7

3,5

3,4

2,9

3,2

3,6

3,0

Ani

mal

2

281

3,0

3,3

3,0

3,0

2,7

2,5

3,3

2,1

Gar

d/La

nds

3 20

1 3,

4 3,

6 3,

4 3,

6 2,

7 2,

9 3,

7 2,

5 Fo

rest

ry

4 14

8 3,

5 3,

6 3,

6 3,

6 3,

3 3,

0 3,

3 2,

9 O

ther

5

15

3,0

3,1

3,5

3,1

2,5

2,4

3,4

2,0

To

tal

865

3,3

3,5

3,3

3,3

2,9

2,8

3,5

2,6

5. H

ow

mu

ch in

tere

st d

o y

ou

hav

e in

his

tory

? (S

core

s in

dic

ate

ave

rage

s fo

r th

eme

s.)

Them

e R

ow

No.

A

gric

ultu

ral

Fore

st

Vet

erin

ary

Env

oron

men

tal

Dom

estic

ani

mal

s La

ndsc

ape

Nat

ural

reso

urce

s G

arde

n A

g/en

v 1

220

3,8

3,1

2,3

3,3

3,0

3,0

3,5

2,4

Ani

mal

2

281

3,2

2,6

3,8

3,2

4,1

2,7

2,8

2,0

Gar

den

3 20

1 3,

0 2,

9 2,

0 3,

4 2,

5 4,

0 3,

5 3,

9 Fo

rest

ry

4 14

8 3,

4 4,

2 2,

0 3,

0 2,

6 3,

2 3,

4 2,

1 O

ther

5

15

3,6

2,9

2,7

3,1

3,7

2,7

2,9

2,1

To

tal

865

3,4

3,1

2,7

3,2

3,2

3,1

3,3

2,6


48

6. H

ow

do

yo

u p

erce

ive

the

follo

win

g st

atem

ents

? (S

ee A

pp

end

ix 1

.)

Prog

ram

R

ow

Num

ber

Com

mon

Kno

wle

dge

Pers

pect

ives

U

nint

eres

ting

Con

text

Bo

ring

Ag -

ekon

om

1 47

4,

7 4,

4 1,

6 4,

0 1,

9 Ag

- hu

sdju

r 2

56

4,4

4,2

2,0

3,9

2,3

Ag -

Land

sbyg

ds u

tv

3 60

4,

9 4,

9 1,

2 4,

7 1,

4 Ag

- Li

vsm

. 4

23

4,3

4,2

1,7

3,8

2,3

Ag -

Mar

k/vä

xt

5 34

4,

6 4,

4 1,

3 4,

1 1,

8 Bi

olog

i 6

25

4,4

4,4

2,1

4,0

2,6

Civ

iling

7 4

4,0

3,5

2,3

3,5

2,3

Dju

rsju

kskö

tare

8

54

4,2

4,0

1,8

3,8

2,3

Ekon

omi

9 9

4,7

4,2

1,6

4,4

1,7

Etol

ogi

10

36

4,4

4,6

1,4

4,2

2,1

Hor

tono

m

12

12

4,8

4,4

1,3

4,3

2,2

Jägm

ästa

re

13

113

4,7

4,5

1,5

4,2

1,9

Land

skap

sark

itek

14

112

4,8

4,8

1,4

4,7

1,9

Lant

mäs

tare

15

18

4,

4 4,

3 1,

5 4,

2 2,

1 Sk

ogsm

ästa

re

16

35

4,6

4,4

1,5

4,2

1,9

Träd

gård

sing

17

45

4,

8 4,

8 1,

2 4,

5 1,

8 Ve

trinä

r 18

13

2 4,

6 4,

5 1,

8 3,

9 2,

3 La

ndsk

apsi

ng

20

32

4,3

4,2

1,6

3,9

2,2

Hus

djur

svet

ensk

ap

21

3 4,

0 4,

3 1,

7 4,

0 1,

7 An

nat

22

15

4,1

4,1

1,8

3,9

2,3

To

tal

865

4,6

4,5

1,6

4,2

2,0


49

7. How do you perceive the following statements? (See Appendix 1.)

Theme Row Number Common

knowledge Perspective Uninteresting Context Boring Ag/Env 1 220 4,6 4,5 1,5 4,2 1,9 Animal 2 281 4,5 4,3 1,8 4,0 2,3 Garden 3 201 4,7 4,7 1,4 4,5 2,0 Forestry 4 148 4,6 4,5 1,5 4,2 1,9 Other 5 15 4,1 4,1 1,8 3,9 2,3

Total 865 4,6 4,5 1,6 4,2 2,0


Program Row Number Cultures Future use Education Travel Biodiversity Ag - ekonom 1 47 4,0 3,5 3,5 3,4 3,6 Ag - husdjur 2 56 4,1 3,9 3,5 3,1 3,9 Ag - Landsbygds utv 3 60 4,6 4,5 4,4 3,9 4,4 Ag - Livsm. 4 23 4,1 4,0 3,2 3,3 3,8 Ag - Mark/växt 5 34 4,2 3,7 3,2 3,7 3,9 Biologi 6 25 4,3 3,8 3,1 3,7 4,1 Civiling 7 4 4,0 4,0 2,3 2,8 3,8 Djursjukskötare 8 54 4,0 3,6 2,8 3,0 3,8 Ekonomi 9 9 4,7 4,2 2,9 4,3 3,6 Etologi 10 36 4,4 3,8 3,3 3,4 4,2 Hortonom 12 12 4,6 4,0 3,3 3,6 4,0 Jägmästare 13 113 4,3 3,9 3,9 3,5 4,2 Landskapsarkitek 14 112 4,5 4,6 4,1 3,6 4,3 Lantmästare 15 18 4,0 3,9 3,5 3,4 3,8 Skogsmästare 16 35 4,1 3,7 3,8 3,4 3,7 Trädgårdsimg 17 45 4,5 4,4 4,2 3,6 4,6 Veterinär 18 132 4,3 4,0 2,8 3,2 3,9 Landskapsing 20 32 4,1 4,4 4,0 3,5 3,9 Husdjursvetenskap 21 3 4,3 3,3 3,7 4,0 4,3 Annat 22 15 4,3 3,7 3,1 3,4 4,0

Total 865 4,3 4,0 3,6 3,4 4,1


50


Theme Row Number Cultures Future use Education Travel Biodiversity Jordbruk/Miljö 1 220 4,3 4,0 3,6 3,6 4,0 Djur 2 281 4,2 3,9 3,0 3,2 3,9 Trädgård/landskap 3 201 4,5 4,5 4,1 3,6 4,3 Skog 4 148 4,2 3,9 3,9 3,5 4,1 Annan 5 15 4,3 3,7 3,1 3,4 4,0

Total 865 4,3 4,0 3,6 3,4 4,1


Program Row Number Profession History in program Agrarian history Ag - ekonom 1 47 3,3 3,0 3,1 Ag - husdjur 2 56 3,7 3,2 3,1 Ag - Landsbygds utv 3 60 4,1 3,4 3,5 Ag - Livsm. 4 23 3,6 3,0 2,6 Ag - Mark/växt 5 34 3,6 3,1 3,4 Biologi 6 25 3,6 2,8 2,3 Civiling 7 4 2,5 2,0 1,8 Djursjukskötare 8 54 3,2 2,3 2,3 Ekonomi 9 9 3,9 3,2 2,8 Etologi 10 36 3,7 3,1 2,3 Hortonom 12 12 3,8 3,4 3,7 Jägmästare 13 113 3,9 3,5 3,6 Landskapsarkitek 14 112 4,2 3,1 2,6 Lantmästare 15 18 3,9 3,2 3,4 Skogsmästare 16 35 3,9 2,8 3,1 Trädgårdsing 17 45 4,2 3,8 3,3 Veterinär 18 132 3,1 2,4 2,3 Landskapsing 20 32 3,8 3,3 3,0 Husdjursvetenskap 21 3 3,3 2,3 2,3 Annat 22 15 3,7 2,7 2,4

Total 865 3,7 3,0 2,9


51


Theme Row Number Profession History in programs Agrarian history Jordbruk/Miljö 1 220 3,7 3,1 3,1 Djur 2 281 3,3 2,6 2,5 Trädgård/landskap 3 201 4,1 3,3 2,9 Skog 4 148 3,9 3,3 3,5 Annan 5 15 3,7 2,7 2,4

Total 865 3,7 3,0 2,9

12.The element of history in my educatioan at SLU, and percent of student who know that agrarian

history is an independent subject at SLU (See Appendix 1.)

Agrarian history

Program Row Number Element of history StdDev Number Percemt (%) Aag - ekonom 1 47 2,8 1,2 39 83% Ag - husdjur 2 56 2,8 1,1 25 45% Ag - Landsbygd 3 60 3,0 0,6 55 92% Ag - Livsm. 4 23 2,8 1,2 7 30% Ag - Mark/växt 5 34 2,6 1,1 22 65% Biologi 6 25 3,3 1,4 7 28% Civiling 7 4 3,8 1,5 1 25% Djursjukskötare 8 54 3,0 1,0 5 9% Ekonomi 9 9 2,7 0,5 1 11% Etologi 10 36 2,9 1,0 6 17% Hortonom 12 12 2,6 0,7 4 33% Jägmästare 13 113 2,6 0,9 11 10% Landskapsarkitek 14 112 2,9 0,6 37 33% Lantmästare 15 18 2,6 0,9 3 17% Skogsmästare 16 35 3,2 0,9 2 6% Trädgårdsimg 17 45 2,8 1,2 7 16% Veterinär 18 132 3,2 1,2 13 10% Landskapsing 20 32 2,7 1,0 1 3% Husdjursvetens 21 3 2,0 1,0

0%

Annat 22 15 3,3 1,3 6 40%

Total 865 2,9 1,0 252 29%


52

13. The element of history in my educatioan at SLU, and percent of student who know that agrarian

history is an independent subject at SLU (See Appendix 1., Scores indicate averages for themes.)

Agrarhistoria

Theme Row Number Inslaget av historia Number Percent (%) Jordbruk/Miljö 1 220 2,9 135 61% Djur 2 281 3,0 49 17% Trädgård/landskap 3 201 2,9 49 24% Skog 4 148 2,8 13 9% Annan 5 15 3,3 6 40%

Total 865 2,9 252


53

APPENDIX 3

Open question: Some words and thoughts about history at SLU

1. Agronomy – Economics

1. Skulle vara intressant med mer inslag i de nuvarande kurserna

2. jag tycker att historia kunde vara mer invävt med andra ämnen så man får lite historia även om man inte aktivt söker de kurserna.

3. Nej

4. Intressant men bör inte ta mer tid från andra kurser i programmen om studenten inte själv väljer att fördjupa sig i ämnet.

5. Man fick reda på en del historia under insparken, men svårt o hålla reda på historia / skrönor om verksamheten på ultuna.

6. Någon form av historisk tillbaka blick på SLU som universitet skulle vara intressant, dvs när och hur det har utvecklats.

7. Jag tycker det är viktigt att läsa exempelvis agralhistoria eftersom det ger oss en förståelse för hur samhället ser ut idag, när det kommer till förhållandet mellan land och stad, resursuttnyttjande etc.

Det passar kanske bäst som valbar kurs på de program som inte har en direkt koppling till ämnet, då det det riskerar att vara omotiverande för de som inte tycker det är lika relevant.

8. Har ett intryck att den är lite bortglömd i dagsläget. Stöttar att lärarna kan få ta in fler historiska aspekter i sina ämnen.

2. Agronomy – Animal husbandry

1. Lagom i den omfattning som det bedrivs nu i min utbildning

2. Borde finnas med i programplanen

3. Historia är ganska obetydligt i dagens undervisning.

4. Lagom

5. behandlas lite på småttingveckan i den rundvandringen och guidningen man fick. Mycket bra :) men gärna mer under årens gång!


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6. Skulle gärna vilja vinna ett sällskapsspel någong gång. har alltid haft svårt att svara på historiafrågorna. Nä, men faktiskt vore det lite intressant att lära sig mer onom detta! Fick upp ögonen för det nu efter denna undersökning!

7. Vissa kurser väver in de historiska aspekterna på ett mycket bra sätt idag

8. Det finns ju en del historia inbakat i de olika kurserna jag läst, men inget som var direkt utstående eller självsagt att vara "historia"

9. jag har pratat med en vän som läser LARK (1;a året) och hon berättade att dom läst om jordbrukets historia. Jag tänkte att det vore intressant även för oss husdjursagronomer. I alla fall någon enstaka föreläsning i ämnet under introduktionskursen första terminen.

10. Jag ska söka till agrarhidtoria-kursen! Tycker det är både viktigt och intressant att lära sig mer om "hur det gick till förr".

11. Historisk man får under insparksveckorna är mycket intressant även om allt kanske inte är helt sant.

12. synd att alla kurser agrarhistoria lagts ner utom en, jag hade gärna läst resten också!

13. Är mycket intressant när lärarna dra lite bakgrund hur de var för i ett ämne.

14. Jordbrukshistoria vore relevant på husdjursinriktningen. Varför ser jordbruket med dåliga inkomster ut som det gör idag? Historian om husdjursarternas ursprung har vi gått igenom tillfredsställande.

15. Jag tycker det skulle behövas mer historia eftersom det förklarar mycket av hur vi har det idag.

16. Känns som ett bortglömt ämne bland all ny biotekik, framtidens gmo växter och planering av grispolitik. Bör inte tvingas in som kurs men smygas in i varje kurs kanske.

3. Agronomy – Rural Development

1. Behövs mer historia som inte bara är agrarhistoria. Kanske mer världshistoria, mänskliga rättigheter samt hur vi se på vår roll i världen. Skapa diskussion!

2. I mitt program har jag fått läsa agrarhistoria och jag ansåg det vara en mycket viktig kurs för att ge kontext till det arbete och den forskning som sker idag. Allt arbete behöver enligt mig inte ta hänsyn till fältets hela historia, men om kunskaperna om sagda historia inte finns där i bakhuvudet på utövarna så tror jag att mycket i väg av perspektiv kan gå förlorat.

3. Jag har läst agrarhistorie kursen och fick en bra inblick i svensk jordbrukshistoria. På den punkten anser jag mig ej behöva mer. Likaså var den historiska rundvandringen under småttingveckorna intressant då man fick information om skolan och platsens historia.

4. Bra att landsbygdsutveckling har agrarhistoria som en egen kurs!


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5. Det är viktigt att den historieundervisning som sker inte bara sker för historians skull utan för den påverkan den har på nuet, speciellt inom markanvänding i Sverige

6. Jag läste agrarhistoria och jag tyckte det var mycktr berikande för min förstålse av jordbrukets inverkan på den svenska historian.

7 Har läst agrarhistoria på SLU, vilket var den kurs där jag fått mest historieinslag under min utbildning på SLU, i övrigt inte så mycket historia under olika kurser.

8. Jag uppskattade den agrarhistoriekursen vi hade under första terminen på SLU

9. Viktigt med mer historia angående våra fält, med en bred omfattning. Inte viktigt att grotta I SLU:s eller Ultuna studentkårs historia mer än vad som redan görs!

10. Mycket spännande historia! Agrarhistoria var en jättebra kurs!

11. Har läst en kurs i agrarhistoria i början av mitt program. Var väldigt nyttigt, allmänbildande och gav en bra grund för programmet. Skulle väldigt gärna läsa fler kurser, och hoppas att det kommer att erbjudas mer!!

12. Tycker att fler borde läsa agrarhistoria. Åtminstånde ekonomerna också

13. Historieundervisning anser jag är viktigt. Jag är mycket tacksam för att vi fick läsa agrarhistoria i ettan på landsbygdsprogrammet. För att förstå dagens landsbygds situation måste man ha kunskap om landsbygdens historia.

14. agrarhistoria borde finnas i alla program

15. Eftersom jag bara går i ettan har jag inte så mycket tankar om historiamomentet på SLU.

16. Det är intressant med historia men jag får det aldrig att fastna (glömmer snabbt) och därav har den historia jag haft i kurser på SLU varit mer än tillräcklig, jag hade blivit underkänd med mer årtal och specificeringar.

17. SLU har en väldigt lång och intressant historia, och det är roligt att detta belyses speciellt under "småttingveckorna" med historisk rundvandring osv.

18. Vi har läst historia i alla kurser som jag hittills läst och historian har ofta varit utgjort en väsentlig del av kursens innehåll. Jag har läst agrarhistoria, i "introduktion till landsbygdsutveckling" läste vi kolonial historia, i politik och förvaltning om EUs historia osv. Historian ger en möjlighet att förstå hur världen och samhället är uppbyggt.

19. Kursen i Agrarhistoria var väldigt intressant då den behandlande en typ av historia som aldrig togs upp i grundskolan. Agrarhistorian handlar om folkets historia och inte om kungar och krig vilket var min upplevelse av grundskolans historia. För en tjej också blir kung- och krigshistorian särskilt ointressant då den nästan helt utesluter kvinnor och deras roll och påverkan på historien. I agrarhistorian fick man mer känsla av historien då vi fick leta i landsarkivet och läsa skönlitterära böcker om vardagliga människors liv under samma tid.


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20. Känner mig lyckligt lottad som har så många kompetenser vad gäller agrarhistoria (lärare, forskare) i min omgivning på SLU. Önskar få ta större del av den kunskap som finns under min fortsatta utbildning. Introduktionskursen i agrarhistoria var givande.

4. Agronomy – Food Science

1. Jag kan ibland sakna sammanhang i allt vi lär oss inom kemi och biologi. Då kan det vara trevligt och rent uppfräschande för huvudet att läsa historia av något slag. Det ger även lite bakgrund till varför vi gör som vi gör nu. Dessutom tror jag man kan finna många svar i historian. Tex, hur åt man förr, och vad hade vi för folkhälsosjukdommar kontra dagens levnadssätt. Det kanske inte faller under ämnet historia, men det hade jag tyckt var intressant.

2. Föreläsare i kurser är bra att berätta om relevant historia, så historia som ett eget ämne känns överflödigt

3. Jag läser livsmedel och tycker att vi har fått en hel del historisk undervisning i jordbruk, men inte så mycket i vårt huvudämne livsmedelskunskap. För min utbildning hade historia kopplat till matvanor, matlagning och syn på mat varit mer relevant. Alla dessa delar påverkar konsumtionsbeteende och därigenom även miljöpåverkan och biologisk mångfald.

4. Kan vara bra och intressant som bakgrund för vad man håller på med för tillfället, t.ex som en inledning till en föreläsning, men en kurs i bara historia är jag inte intresserad av.

5. Vore intressant att läsa agrarhistoria-kursen, eller allmänt om yrket(agronom) genom tiden.

6. Vår nutid är en reflektion av vår historia, att känna till den är absolut nödvändig för utvecklingen av vår framtid.

7. Jag tycket historia kan vara väldigt intressant om det görs på rätt sätt, har haft en lärare under gymnasiet som var helt fantastisk på att lära ut historia med avseende på vad som faktiskt hände och hur det förändrade vardagen för människorna då, vi läste bland annat om specefika personer som levde under denna tid och hur deras vardag såg ut. Sen har jag haft lärare som fått mig att avsky hisoria, bara en massa namn och årtal som skulle präntas in, det vär extremt tråkigt.

5. Agronomy – Soil/plant

1. Vi får ofta korta historiska tillbakablickar i början av en kurs. Om olika vetenskapsmän/kvinnor som kom med nya upptäckter som varit viktiga för ämnet. Det känns allmänbildande och som en viktig grund. I vårt program har vi dock inte så mycket lantbruksinriktad historia utan det blir mycket klinisk vetenskap. Det hade varit intressant att ha en obligatorisk kurs i agrarhistoria i början av programmet där man kan diskutera jordbruk i olika delar av världen och reflektera över de olika systemen ur ett dåtida och nutida perspektiv. Tror att det skulle vara en givande grund


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för kommande studier. Det finns mycket vi kan dra lärdom av från det gamla jordbruket men det är också viktigt att inte stirra sig blind på gamla tankesätt när omvärlden förändras. Det tycker jag hade varit intressant att diskutera mer om!

2. De är alltid lite historia i början på de flesta kurser och det är det tråkiga. man känner att man inte heller behöver lyssna eftersom det aldrig tentas.

3. Kul att man kan läsa agrar historia

4. Vore roligt med jordbruks-historia!

5. Medveten om att agrarhistorian går att läsa, men utan en självskriven plats i ramschemat är det svårt att motivera för att läsa till. Det är ett intressant ämne, men i jämförelse med andra kurser under år 3-4 tror jag att den förlorar på att alla andra kurser ger viktigare kunskap som man lyfter med sig in i arbetslivet.

6. Tycker det är oerhört viktigt med jordbrukspolitisk historia med fokus på 1900-talet för ALLA agronomutbildningarna så att studenterna får en bättre bild av varför dagen jordbrukspolitiska situation ser ut som den gör.

7. Agrarhistoria inbakat i utbildningen är inte kul

8. Intressant historia ute vid Ultuna där jag läser.

9. Kunskap om historia är viktiga för att förstå samtiden och hur saker har utvecklats. Inom SLU och lantbruk är viktiga exempel, hur brukningsmetoderna har utvecklats och hur detta har lett till skapandet av nya livsmiljöer (ex. ängar), strukturrationaliseringens framväxt och EU:s jordbrukspolitik, m.fl.. Detta är exempel på ämnen som hade varit lämpliga att ta upp i någon kurs där det finns en naturlig ingång till ämnet.De naturvetenskapliga utbildningarna bör närma sig och betrakta frågorna ur ett naturvetenskapligt perspektiv.

10. Lite mer av Agrarhistoria i våra utbildningar, gärna jämförelse mellan nutida och dåtida.

11. Skulle önska att utbildningen vore mer tvärvetenskaplig så att samhällsämnen och historia fanns med i programmet jag går på. Detta för att förankra kunskap i en bättre kontext och förbereda en bättre för yrkeslivet. Ett alternativ skulle vara att utöka möjligheterna att ta valfria kurser...

6. Biology

1. its good

2. Historiakunskaper är nyttiga ENBART ifall de samtidigt kopplas ihop med processer och perspektiv på nutiden.

3. it is a good university.


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7. Civil engineering

–

8. Veterinary Nursing (Djursjukskötare)

1. Jag tycker att historia är et intressant ämne, men jag ser det inte nödvändigt att inkludera mer historia i min utbildning då mina lärare är bra på att ge oss nödvändig historia

2. Jag tyckte det var positivt att det fanns med historia om Ultuna under insparken!

3. Vet ej så mycket om den mer än vad som berättades första dagen vid uppropet.

4. På min utbildning tycker jag att vi har lagom mycket historia invävt i utbildningen. När vi börjar en ny kurs brukar första föreläsningen börja med historia för att vi ska få en grun och veta var disciplinen är sprungen ur. I den nuvarande kursen i anestesi tex började vi med att prata om hur det var förr när man opererade utan bedövning, och hur bedövning och sötningsmedel upptäcktes och började användas fram till där i är idag. Det ger en bra grund, och är fullt tillräckligt tycker jag.

5. Skulle vara mer intressant som en kvällsaktivitet.

6. nej.

9. Economics – Bachelor

1. Historia är bra men jag har svårt att se hur fler timmar ska få plats i de olika kurserna.

2. Nöjd med utbildning och SLU i helhet.

10. Ethology and Animal Welfare (Etologi och djurskydd)

1. Min utbildning fokuserar mkt på forskning där man så mycket som möjligt försöker fokusera på att hitta ny forskning. Det är dock viktigt att titta på tex evolution, som kan kopplas till historia i min utbildning. Vi har en kurs i evolution och flertalet andra kurser kopplas till evolution. Jag tycker det är viktigt att tänka på och undervisa om hur lantbrukssamhället såg ut förr och hur man kan jobba för att bevara detta sett att tänka.

2. Jag tycker att det är lagom mycket eftersom jag läst evolution och bevarande, då har vi kommit in mycket på historia, samt andra kurser har vi gått in väldigt mycket på forskningshistoria.

3. För mig är historia viktigt då vi bla läser etologi och lagstiftning. För att kunna bedöma djurs välfärd ochhälsa krävs det att jag vet om historian bakom djuret, och även kan förstå utvecklingen av lagstiftningen.

4. Min uppfattning är att historia är viktigt i utbildningen om den är anknuten till


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utbildningens ämne/-n, i min utbildning uppfylls detta. Jag uppskattar också att SLU tidigare värnat om sin egen historia, dock har detta försämrats de senaste åren.

5. Upplever inte att vi lärt oss alls mycket historia på SLU.

6. Hade gärna velat veta mer om historiskt relevanta personer för min utbildning - vilka som gjort den till vad den är genom tiderna.

7. Vet inte så mycket om det.

8. lagom mängd "djur historia", tex när vi pratar evolution och domesticering. SLU:s egna historia får man också ta del av, tex peter hernqvist dagen var intressant när den inleddes med att berätta lite om peter hernqvist och hans liv.

12. Hortonom

1. Jag tyckte att historia och sammanhanget då, nu och framtiden först behandlades i årskurs 3 på hortonomprogrammet i kursen "Ekologi" vilket var mycket givande och gav en bra förståelse och insikt hur och varför vår miljö ser ut som den gör idag.

2. Undervisare har oftast med lite hur det historiskt har sett ut, men ej så mycket så att man hinner få sådan förståelse.

Jägmästare (13)

1. Vi har haft en exkursion i skogshistoria och det var den bästa exkursionen hittills i utbildningen.

Det finns en kurs i skogshistoria men den går bara vartannat år och alla kan inte läsa den. Önskar att möjlighet till att läsa den är större!

2. Det viktiga är att utbildade på slu kan beskriva varför en plats historia är relevant för den oinsatte debattören. Att tex skogar planterats i århundraden. Att naturen fungerar att bruka.

3. skogsindustriell historia kanske vore något på jägmästarprogrammet, dock mycket översiktligt

4. bra de vi fått men för lite.

5. Om det ska vara mer historia på SLU är det viktigt att det sker på ett modernt sätt. Att man fokuserar på diskurser i samhället och hur händelser sker knutet till samhällsnivå snarare än till individer. Generellt sett tenderar historieundervisning som inte hör till universitets institutioner för historia vara väldigt omodern, som taget från 50-talet. Akta er för det.

6. Minns bara att vi haft 1 exkursion rörande skogshistoria. Det är ganska lite på 5 år. Vet dock att det finns en kurs att välja som heter just "skogshistoria".


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7. Skoghistoriakursen som var valbar var fantastiskt bra!

8. Tycker att SLU har totalt missat en mycket viktig del av den grundläggande kunskapen som man bör känna till när man ska arbeta med naturresursanvändning/exploatering. Om man inte får med sig vad som historiskt lett fram till de attityder som om naturresursanvändning/natursyn finns i samhället idag har man mycket svårt att förstå komplexiteten i resursutnyttjande. Tycker detta är mycket olyckligt eftersom jag kan se att den kunskapen fattas hos många när diskussioner i ämnet resursutnyttjande förs. Denna del borde vara en del av varje kurs och behandlas grundligt redan från början av jägmästarprogrammet.

9. Det finns, men jag hade personligen läst lite mer eftersom jag är intresserad av ämnet

10. Naturresursanvändning har varit i centrum för mänsklig aktivitet sen dag ett, därför borde det vara självklart att alla som ska syssla med sådant har mer än gymnnasial kompetens.

11. Det finns endast en kurs i skogshistoria, men det går endast vartannat år, så jag kommer inte kunna läsa den. Det är jättetråkigt då vi inte haft tillräckligt mycket historia på utbildningen.

12. Har haft delmoment i skogshistoria som varit bra! Mer historia om skogsindustri hade varit önskvärt!

13. Vid jägmästarprogrammet är momentet skogshistoria väldigt omtyckt men berörs inte särskilt mycket om man inte väljer att läsa det vid sidan av ordinarie kurser

14. Tycker det är bra att det ingår i utbildningen samt att det finns extra kurser att läsa till.

15. jag tycker att vi har tillfredsställande mycket historia som är inbakat i många kurser

16. Var en liten del i resorna, annars väldigt lite undervisning i ämnet.

17. De lärare som finns specifikt för historia är mycket kunninga på sitt specialområde och dess applicering i större sammanhang

18. Det jag har haft har varit intressant och bra.

19. Tycker vi får en del historia på våra kurser rörande markanvändning, vilket är bra

20. Tycker att det är ett bra och lagom stort inslag på jägmästarprogrammet idag. Finns extra kurs att välja om man är intresserad.

21. Ingen erfarenhet än.

22. Relevant och bra. Det går att fördjupa sig mer om man är intresserad.

23. Läste en kurs i skogshistoria, den var bra, men jag anser att den kursen kan utvecklas för att skapa ett större intresse för ämnet.

24. Då jag går första året på jägmästarprogrammet så har jag inte så bra uppfattning om i vilken omfattning ämnet historia kommer att ingå i utbildningen, men jag tänker att historia borde vara väldigt viktigt att ha kunskap om i skogssammanhang för att i


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yrkeslivet kunna ta hänsyn till och bevara historiskt viktiga platser och fornlämningar.

25. Bra med historia men känner personligen inget stort engagemang för ämnet eftersom jag inte tror att det kommer att göra mig till en batter jägmästare.

26. Några lärare har fastnat i historia och inte tagit med dagens utveckling. Vi har alltså missat vad som är aktuellt precis idag.

27. Lägg inte ner Forest history kursen i Umeå!

28. Vi har haft en kort skogshistoriakurs på programmet. Kanske borde varit något längre och innefattad större delar av landet. Dock inte för mkt mer på bekostnad av annat

29. Tycker att man kan få in mer samisk historia.

30. Jag är mycket intresserad av att lära mig om hur hästen användes och används i jord- och skogsbruk

31. Som i min förra kommentar. Våra flesta lärare fokuserar på årtalskunnande och missar helhetsbilden. Tråkigt

32. Mycket liten del i vår utbildning. Kursen Forest History gavs förut vartannat år, nu har det ändrats så den är valbar varje år. Dock ligger den då parallellt med andra kurser vilket är svårt att planera ihop med exkursioner och andra obligatoriska moment. Just på grund av detta var jag tvungen att tacka nej till min antagning på kursen i höstas. Hoppas jag kan läsa den nästa termin istället.

I övrigt tycker jag vi har små inslag av historia í andra kurser vilket är intressant och givande för kursen.

33. Har hört från äldrekursare att kursen I Skogshistoria skall vara en av de bästa under hela utbildningen. Skulle uppskattas med lite mer under tidigare delar av utbildningen. Det ger en väldigt god bild av hur skogsbruket har utvecklats och är absolut relevant vart jag än kommer i landet!(Även koppling till istiden,och landskapets formation är mycket uppskattat - förbättrar min naturupplevelse).

Landscape Architect (14)

1. Relevant och absolut tillräckligt på min utbildning.

2. Intressant kurs. Jättespännande resa till Tyskland. Fick ta del av historiska landskap och trädgårdar. Tyckte mycket om att först få läsa om ställena och sedan besöka de och se de i verkligheten.

3. Även om det inte är jättespännande alltid är det viktigt med historia i alla former för att inte glömma bort hur människor har använd vår jord innan oss.

4. Borde vara en mer integrerad del I utbildningen.

5. Vi har haft Trädgårdens, parkens och landskapets historia men jag skulle även ha mer agrarhistoria I utbildningen.


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6. Det är både roligt och intressant med historia. jag läste en grundkurs i historia på Lunds universitet och har helt ändrat min syn på människan efter det. På slu finns det ganska lite historia med i kurserna, det som finns med handlar för det mesta om det uppenbara, som de största parkerna osv.

7. Vi kunde helt klart ha mer parkhistoria på Landskapsarkitektprogrammet. Maria Ignatieva var grymt bra!!

Agrarhistoria skulle också vara spännande att få mer utav!

8. Det jag läste i en kurs om park- och trädgårdshistoria var ganska oproblematiserande och eurocentriskt. Jag hade velat se fler element av historia i andra kurser också, eftersom en insyn i det historiska sammanhanget alltid är relevant, oavsett kurs.

9. Inom programmet landskapsarkitektur så har jag endast läst en kurs inom historia. Den avhandlade mycket hur parker inom olika epoker sett ut. Vilket så klart är viktigt att ha kunskap om. Men jag hade också uppskattat mer "allmän landskapshistoria". Något i stil med historia som riktar sig mer mot vardagslandskap.

10. Jag har precis börjat, vi har haft en historiakurs hitills, (landskapet och parkens historia 10hp) och jag är lite osäker på om det kommer fler. Men det vore kul om man tog in lite mer om landskapet och skogens historia, för att skapa bättre förståelse för dagens situation. den kurs vi har läst tog enbart upp trädgårdar och anläggningar.

11. Ultuna och Alnarp borde synliggöra hur det såg ut "förr i tiden" mer. I Ultuna därför att man har byggt om, byggt ut, byggt nytt och rivit i området och det är nyttigt och spännande att återkoppla till hur området har sett ut under årens lopp, för att få en djupare förståelse för universitetets och stadsdelens historia. Landskapet runtom ser väl också väldigt annorlunda ut nu jämför med för 50-70 år sedan? På Alnarp borde också campusets historia förstärkas, med tanke på t.ex. Alnarpsslottet och den vackra parken som har gamla anor. Enkla medel, såsom skyltar och tavlor kan göra mycket!

12. Jag tycker att kursen i historia vi har läst i teorin är bra men jag tycker att kursen behöver utvecklas. Kurslitteraturen på kursen var mer som en skönlitterär bok än en fackbok. Mitt intresse för trädgårdshistoria hade antagligen varit större om kursen varit bättre och haft relevant kurslitteratur

13. Jag anser att den historia vi läst på LARK har varit bra. Det skulle inte skada med mer men det sker ju i så fall på bekostnad av andra ämnen. Svårt att väga vad som är viktigast när man går i tvåan.

14. Det är alltid väldigt relevant vem man ha turen/oturen att få som professor när man läser historia om denne lyckas fånga intresset och förmedla det essentiella.

15. bra föreläsningar i våra grundkurser vi terminsstarten!

16. I min utbildning, landskapsarkitekt, läste vi (nästan) bara trädgårdshistoria, vilket jag tyckte var helt meningslöst och tråkigt eftersom barrockparker och renässansvillaträdgårdar är långtifrån vad de flesta vill eller kommer att arbeta med.


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Det skulle vara MYCKET mer intressant att få gedigen utbildning i stadsplanerings ideal under 1900-talet till exempel.

Vår kurs slutade när vi kom till 1900talet.

17. Vi har en kurs på 10hp om trädgårdshistoria inom hela landskapsarkitektprogrammet; på tok för lite! Vi hade behövt djupare kunskap inom olika idéer och stilar under historiens gång, vilka växter som använts under olika tidsperioder, kända historiska arkitekter mm. Även modern historia såsom nya projekt inom de närmsta årtionden borde studerats närmare! Mer historia på utbildningen tack!!

18. Intressant och viktigt. Bra med mindre delar i de flesta kurser. Däremot bör den existerande historiekursen på larkprogrammet utvärderas och förbättras pedagogiskt och med kurslitteratur och arbetssätt då det är vetenskapligt bevisat att det finns nya roliga och effektiva metoder för inlärning och utlärning som universitetet i sin helhet bör tillgodose sig..

19. Bra:)

20. Det är bra att man får lära sig om historia!

21. Bra med koppling till utbildningen. Vi fick ganska fort insikt i hur vi kommer använda oss av historia i yrkeslivet!

22. Historia är relevant att läsa inom alla våra utbildningar, och historia är en viktig del av nutiden och också för framtiden. Det ger förståelse och kan användas som ett hjälpmedel för framtida utveckling.

23. Nej, men kommentar: Förstod ej frågan om agrar historia bör vara ett självständigt ämne på slu. Borde funnits ett vet ej-alternativ eller en mer ingående förklaring.

24. I vår utbildning har vi enskilda kurser som har "main focus" på historia (exempelvis Trädgård- och parkhistoria samt Människan i Landskapet). Dessa kurser är nödvändiga och intressanta för oss studenter eftersom man måste förstå bakgrunden till det mesta för att kunna ta ett steg åt rätt riktning och utveckla ny historia.

25. Det är ytterst viktigt, speciellt inom landskapsarkitektur för att få perspektiv på stadsbyggande och lära sig av historiska ideal inom estetik.

26. På landskapsarkitekturutbildningen ingår rätt mycket historiaundervisning; som geologin som berättar om jorden skapelse till människans användande av landskapet under århundraderna för att sedan landa i trädgårds- och parkhistoria

27. Vore intressant att lära sig mer, eller hur man kan ta reda på mer själv om ex. En plats man kommer till.

28. Det är en ganska grundläggande del som berörs i början av utbildningen och nosas på under hela utbildningen men ännu mer insmuget i alla kurser tror jag är viktigt. Kanske inte då fokus på jordhistoria utan samhällshistoria, speciellt för lark. Vi behöver få större förståelse landskapets inverkan på samhälle och människan genom historien.


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29. De historielärare jag mött på universitetet är väldigt kompetenta.

30. SU och ALnarps historia är mindre intressant än den historia som är knuten till specifika kurser vi läser!

31. Bra

32. även den senare historie/teori-utvecklingen inom landskapsarkitektur ur ett internationellt perspektiv bör täckas in bättre - inte bara de naturhistoriska och agrarhistoriska aspekterna

33. Kul med agrarhistoria!

34. Historia är viktigt! Och intressant

35. Tycker att vi har fått en bra historisk koppling inom LARK-utbildningen.

36. Jag tror att det är viktigt att försöka interagera historieperspektivet I undervisningen där det är möjligt, framför allt I sk projektkurser. Om historieundervisningen blir allt för separate riskerar den att förefalla "onödig och dammig", istället för att ses som en resurs för insamling av data och kunskaper, vilket det ju är.

37. Bra att vi fick läsa agralhistoria och markanvändning. ger bar bild av hur mycket vi faktistk påverkar marken idag med allt vi bygger nytt och planerar. Hur mycket store påverkan det vi gör nu har mot allt vi byggt och gjort under männsikans historia tidigare.

38. viktig då SLU är så speciellt i sitt slag

39. Jag tycker min utbildning innehåller lagom mycket historia. I landskapsarkitektens roll innebär att ta hänsyn till en plats förflutna så i princip alla projekt och kurser vi har innehåller någon typ av historisk analys. Saknar däremot lite mer arkitekturhistoria.

40. det är viktigt som en bas att utgå ifrån i behandling av nya idéer då historia tenderar att kunna upprepa sig och på så vis avslöja något om framtiden

41. Vi har haft trädgårdhistoria och den kursen var jätteintressant och jag tror jag lärde mig extra mycket och fick upp intresset för att vi gjorde en studieresa till Tyskland.

Lantmästare (15)

1. Alnarp har en enorm historia, dock inom lantmästarprogrammet får vi ta del av den och är en del av den. Dock är det inte främst SLU utan kåren som ger detta. Men i lantmästarutbildningen skulle man kunna ha några föreläsningar om lantbrukets historia dock vet jag att de som läst på naturburks skolor redan har läst om detta men vi är ganska blandade vad det gäller utbildning m.m. innan vi kommer hit.

Vet ej hur det ser ut på andra utbildningar men det vore nog en stor fördel om man faktiskt fick reda på varandras utbildningar och dess historia. Främst då en agrara historian då Sverige har blivit väldigt urbaniserat och många människor har bilden av lantbruket som man har sett i Astrid Lindgren historierna och så ser det verkligen inte ut idag


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dock så lever djuren mångt om mycket bättre idag än då samt att det har varit många olika faktorer som har påverkat hur lantbruket ser ut idag.

2. Man måste veta var man varit och vart man är för att veta vart man vill.

3. Hade gärna haft mer historia invävt i de kurserna vi läser.

4. mycket historia i väggarna på SLU i Alnarp. Viktigt att ta tillvara på:-)

5. Lagom nivå för att bli kunnig utan att bli expert!

6. Viktigt med historia inte minst inom den gröna näringen. Inom jordbruk är det jätteviktigt med den historiska utvecklingen som inom tekniken har gått väldigt snabbt de senaste 50 åren med bidragande effekter på mark och miljö. I dagsläget är kunskapen kring denna utveckling av stor betydelse för att kunna vara med i debatter inom branschen och för att kunna driva den mot en för världen hållbar och inom Sverige levande näring.

7. Mer historia!

Forest management (Skogsmästare) (16)

1. Ibland väldigt utförlig - ibland ingen alls.

2. På skogsmästarskolan är det lagom mycket historia. Kanske lite för mycket maskinhistoria för min smak.

3. Äldre historia är viktigt. Vi hade för mycket teknikhistoria (60- till 90-tal)

4. För lite historia på SLU, bra med bakgrund för att förstå nutiden. Vi kan t ex läsa om skogsvårdslagen men har ingen info om varför lagen kom till.Finns oftast en opinion eller politiska beslut som ligger bakom.

5. Viktigt inslag för att förstå helheten.

Garden designer (Trädgårdsingenjör) (17)

1. I min utbildning (Trädgårdsingenjör - Design) ingår bara en 7,5-poängskurs i trädgårdshistoria. Jag skulle gärna lära mig lite mer om det ämnet.

2. Jag anser det vara en mycket stor brist i utbildningen att det är så lite trädgårdshistoria och odlingshistoria. Tring design har en del men Tring odling har nästan inget alls. Just historia kring vad som skedde på Alnarp förr, vad som odlades och så vidare borde absolut vara med i utbildningen, det har ju varit lantbruksuniversitet länge, och de som läser där nu får ingen information i själva utbildningen om vilka försök osv som bedrivits på Alnarp. Det är viktigt att känna till hur man odlade förr, för att ta lärdom av det!

3. När skogen kommer in i sammanhanget skulle det vara bra att upplysa våra kollegor i Umé


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att skogen/jordbrukets historia om igenplanterade arealer är bra mycket mer invecklad än vad som gärna presenteras. Men vinnaren skriver ju historien och eleverna ska inte veta att siffror på ett papper inte säger hela sanningen...

4. Intressant ämne som är betydelsefullt fför att förstår vissa saker.

5. Älskade trädgårdshistorian vi läste i årskurs 2!

6. Vi fick en rundvandring på Alnarpsområdet som var mycket intressant. Bra!

7. Vi har fått en del historia vilket har varit mycket roligt.

8. Med mitt bristande intresse för historia, tycker jag att det är "lagom" historia. Men vad som också avgör hur spännande/ informativt historia som ämne är, ligger mycket på läraren.

9. för att förstå nuet och varför vissa saker är som det är, och blir som det blir. Måste man förstå historien eller åtminstone känna till delar av den och att de haft och har betydesle för det som sker idag...

10. Borde vara med historia på SLU!

11. SLU har en väldigt intressant historia. När olika lärare berättar hur det har varit, vem som har gått här och hur skolan har utvecklats känns de som man får en helt annan förståelse för platsen. Dessutom känns de också som man är en del av ett större sammanhang vilket jag upplever är trevligt.

12. Gärna fristående kurser i historia. Även för oss som går trädgårdsingenjör- odling. Design läser ju trots allt en kurs med historisk anknytning.

13. Det hade varit roligt att få en historia om slottet/SLU Alnarp när man börjar i skolan. Någon gång under första året.

14. Inom programmet "trädgårdsingenjör - design" har vi bara en liten kurs i trädgårdshistoria. Jag hade gärna sett mer. Väldigt få av våra kreativa tankar är unika och det kunde vara skönt att kunna förankra sina uttryck i historien. Det skulle också ge en förståelse för varför vissa stilperioder ser ut som de gör, ex funktionalismen, som genomsyrade hela samhället - inte bara det estetiska. Kanske kunde vi bli mer ödmjuka inför det vi själva inte gillar om vi får förståelse för sammanhanget - så att vi inte upprepar historien om och om igen.

Veterinär (18)

1. Jag har studerat utomlands, i Tjeckien. Där läste vi en halvårskurs (1,5 h i veckan) som hette Ethics and History of Veterinary Medicine. Första lektionen på varje kurs var dessutom ett ordentligt intro där ursprunget till ämnet togs upp, tillsammans framstående forskare/teoretiker samt viktiga nobelpristagare genom tiderna inom det ämnet. Detta fanns även alltid med som potentiella tentamensfrågor

Detta var enligt mig lite för djupgående men på SLU är historien mer eller mindre helt


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bortplockad.

En kort tillbakablick som del av introduktionen till nya kurser borde ju inte vara för svårsmält, varken för lärare eller elever.

2. I undervisningen har vi i några delmoment haft inslag av historia, medicinens historia med mm. Har varit väldigt intressant att se hur tekniken inom kirurgi och kunskapen om smittorisk har utvecklas :)

3. Kan vara relevant inom vissa program. Bra att lära sig av histroiens misstag och iinte göra om dessa. Histriaundervisning måste avvägas mot det man då skulle gå miste om av dagens vetenskap.

4. Det tas upp i många kurser på veterinärprogrammet.

5. Medicinhistoria blir så tråkigt när det bara är en lång lista på gubbar som upptäckte olika saker.

6. Jag har ingen aning om SLU's historia eller SLU's betydelse för Sverige. Det hade kunnat vara kul att veta.

7. Historia är ett viktigt inslag i det liv vi lever, anledningen till att vi är där vi är idag. På detta sätt kan vi också lära oss av våra misstag och förutspå en bättre framtid.

8. Lärare som kommer med egna historier är förstås bra, men skulle vara roligt med mer "ren" historia.

9. historia om SLU har jag fått via frivilliga aktiviteter (nollning)

10. SLU har mycket stora historiska tillgångar och mycket kunnig personal som har varit med länge. Jag tycker att lite mer historia ska vara inkluderat i de kurser där det går att få in. Det behöver inte ligga som en egen kurs, utan det bästa för att få närvaro och intresse är om det integreras i de befintliga kurserna.

11. I have studied in the university in Estonia, where history is included in every course. I have studied how many houses were in Estonia during there reforms, when were different government celebration, what was the name of the stallions in 1700's, all the big names in vet. med. starting from Ancient Greece, their partner, wars, history of the shool etc. So much little details that Scandinavians could not even imagine... That is why I don't really wish any more history studies in SLU.

12. Tavlan i Are har hängt med Veterinärutbildningen i många år!

13. Historia är viktigt för sammanhanget, men man kan inte klämma in hur mycket som helst i en utbildning. Det går definitivt inte att försöka göra likadant rakt över alla SLUs utbildningar.

14. Lite veterinärmedicinsk historia hade inte skadat, dock kan det nog bli svårt att klämma in det i vårt redan så proppfulla schema, då det finns så mycket vi måste gå igenom under 5,5 år.


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15. Föreläsarna blandar in lagomt mycket historia med någon slide i sin ppt inför varje nytt område/ämne

Landskapsingenjör (20)

1. Eftersom jag har ett intresse av historia så tycker jag självfallet att mer historia om jord och skog bör finnas med i Landskapsingejörprogrammet-även fast vi har trädgårdshistoria, vilket inte är samma sak som agrarhistoria... Mer Jordbruk och skogshistoria tack!!

2. Vi hade gärna fått ha mer trädgårdshistoria.

3. Viktigt ämne, men enligt mig väldigt tråkigt. Bör nog va valbart!

4. Trädgårdshistoria som kan ökas

5. Omitted since it is a negative personal comment.

6. Jag gillar historia personligen så jag tycker att det är bra. I övrigt anser jag inte att det är en förutsättning för att skapa funktionella platser om inte historia redan är en del av den. Personer som studerar en ingenjörsutbildning med naturvetenskaplig inriktning är inte intresserad av historia enligt min erfarenhet.

7. Alldeles för lite

8. Jag tycker att vi har haft lite för lite historia i utbildningen men om man hade använt de poäng historia som vi har fått på ett effektivt sätt så hade vi kunnat få med oss mer kunskaper i ämnet.

9. Vår kurs i trädgårdshistoria kopplades inte samman med hur vi kunde använda den kunskapen i vårt framtida yrke vilket känns synd.

10. Hade varit roligt att veta mer om hur slu har varit med och förändrat historien med forskning bland annat.

11. Vill ha mer kvalitativ historiakurs! Och inte BARA trädgårdshistoria/historia om parker, istället mer annat som berör mitt program (landskapsingenjör)

12. Kan definitivt tas upp mer i kurser som inte är rena historiekurser., för att ge perspektiv på det man lär in.

13. Det vore intressant och roligt att veta mer om SLUs historia, och själva campus historia. Hur det såg ut förut, hur det användes och hur det kom att utvecklas. Jag tror att man skulle uppskatta parken och campus mer om man visste vilket historiskt värde det har. Den mest intreassanta delen, tycker jag, måste vara Slottet med tanke på att det ser både gammalt och ståtligt ut. Av ren nyfikenhet hade jag velat veta mer om slottet ur ett historiskt perspektiv.


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Husdjursvetenskaplig – bachelor (21)

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Other (22)

1. Väldigt historie-förankrad skola. Lever kvar med manga konservativa utbildningar.

2. Känner inte till

3. Det finns oftast mer relevanta kurser att läsa än historia. Om man då inte utbildar sig inom just historia.

4. Behovet av historia i utbildningen är avhängigt ämnet. Jag a ser att historia är viktigt men olika viktigt beroende de på ämne.

5. Har inte fått så mycket av det under min utbildning, mest från kåren och varför vissa traditioner finns där.

Are students at a university focused on natural sciences interested in history education? This report presents the results of a survey asking students at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU) about their interest in history and education. The overarching question has been: Do students at SLU think it is important to learn about history? More than 860 students completed the survey. The results reveal that most students have high interest in history closely connected to their own education and they think history gives perspective on their subjects and provides context. Most students actually think they will improve in their professional life if they know the history of their own profession. This report presents how students in different educational programs perceive history and history education and makes it possible to compare educational programs as well as opinions of students from different faculties. The report concludes with some suggestions for future teaching. History has to be better integrated into SLU’s educational programs to fulfill the students’ request for more knowledge in history. Many students also want to dig deeper into history and request open courses in history.

Agrarhistoria nr 4

Documents

History, Students, and Education - SLU.SEpub.epsilon.slu.se/13504/7/larsson_j_160707.pdf · History, Students, and Education ... Cover photo: Karin Hallgren ... och markanvändning